Malami Alleges EFCC Retaliation Over Salami Report

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has leveled explosive allegations against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), claiming the agency conducted coordinated raids on his private residences and offices on Wednesday. The senior advocate alleged that the operations in Abuja and Kebbi State were a direct act of “intimidation and retaliation” following his recent public disclosure of excerpts from the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry report.

The timing of the raids, according to a statement from Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, suggests a strategic attempt to suppress specific evidence. Malami claimed that the operatives focused their search on documents related to Chapter 9 of the Salami Report—a section he asserts contains adverse findings against the current EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede. Olukoyede served as the secretary to the Salami panel during the 2020 probe of former acting chairman Ibrahim Magu, and Malami contends that the report’s findings create a fundamental conflict of interest in the agency’s ongoing investigation of his own tenure.

Describing the development as “deeply alarming,” the former AGF’s office has called on the international community and civil society to take note of what they describe as a pattern of institutional harassment. Malami had previously demanded that Olukoyede recuse himself from any probe involving him, arguing that he had already been “pre-judged” by a leadership he once investigated. He insists that his recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has further fueled a “politically motivated” vendetta against him.

The EFCC has yet to issue a formal response to the specific allegations of Wednesday’s raids, though it has previously denied any bias in its dealings with the former minister. The agency maintains that its probe into Malami—which covers allegations of money laundering, abuse of office, and the management of Abacha loot recoveries—is a standard law enforcement procedure. However, Malami’s camp is now calling for the full, transparent release of the Salami Report to the public, arguing that only total disclosure can resolve the mounting tension between the former chief law officer and the nation’s primary anti-graft body.