Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday arrested former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in Abuja.
Malami’s arrest comes weeks after a Federal High Court in Abuja granted him bail on January 7 in an ongoing money laundering case. Justice Emeka Nwite admitted Malami, his son Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife Bashir Asabe to bail in the sum of N500 million each.
The court ordered each defendant to provide two sureties owning landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarimpa within the Federal Capital Territory.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the trio on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering involving N8,713,923,759.49. The commission alleged that they conspired between 2015 and 2025 to launder proceeds of unlawful activities through bank accounts and corporate entities to conceal the source of over N8.1 billion.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty.
The court later ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about N213 billion, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly linked to Malami.
Days before the arrest, Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Doka, had alleged that DSS operatives were trailing the former AGF and had mounted surveillance around Kuje prison with plans to re-arrest him after a court appearance.
Malami was taken into custody outside the Kuje Correctional Centre, shortly after leaving the facility.
A video shared widely on social media shows the former AGF being escorted into a vehicle believed to belong to the DSS. In the footage, Malami is seen asking the operatives to identify themselves before complying.
The arrest was linked to multiple petitions against Malami, The Cable reports.
“Yes, it is true that DSS operatives arrested Abubakar Malami, SAN. There are several petitions against him bordering on alleged terrorism financing,” the source said.
It added that allegations of terrorism and its financing are treated as grave offences worldwide, recalling Malami’s own stance while in office.
“You’ll recall that when Abubakar Malami, SAN, was the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, he vowed that the government of the day would not shield any person or persons linked to terrorism or terrorism financing,” the source added.
“No responsible government would, in the same vein, fold its hands or turn a blind eye to weighty allegations of terrorism financing levelled against any individual, no matter how highly placed. In this case, Malami, SAN.”
According to the source, the arrest followed inter-agency collaboration, stressing that the DSS has the statutory mandate to investigate such matters.
“In the course of investigations, we have what is called inter-agency cooperation. It is not uncommon for one security agency to hand over a person under investigation to another sister security agency,” the source said.
“In Nigeria, the DSS is the sole security agency tasked with the responsibility of investigating such allegations. It’ll be best to allow them to do their job.”
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