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Urges former Attorney-General to cooperate with investigators
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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Saturday reaffirmed its apolitical stance in its operations.
Head of Media and Publicity, EFCC, Dele Oyewale, in a statement said that, while the commission is ordinarily disinclined to engage in media exchanges over its operations, it was compelled to respond to patently false claims by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, regarding an alleged revocation of his bail over attendance at a political gathering in Kebbi State.
Administrative bail is a discretionary and temporary reprieve granted to a suspect, subject to specified conditions, pending the conclusion of investigations and possible arraignment, Oyewale clarified.
“Accordingly, following his brief interrogation on 28 November 2025, Mr Malami was granted provisional administrative bail, contingent upon five clearly stated conditions.
“To date, he has failed to fulfil any of these conditions or demonstrate readiness to comply with them.
“The former minister was scheduled to report back to the Commission for further interrogation on 1 December 2025.
“However, in a letter dated 4 December 2025, he appealed to the Commission to excuse his absence on grounds of ill health.
“Despite the fact that his bail conditions remained unmet, the Commission compassionately granted his request.
“His reporting date was consequently deferred from 1 December to 4 December 2025, largely based on his Request for an Adjournment on Grounds of Ill Health.
“Notwithstanding this concession, Mr Malami neither submitted a medical report nor provided any credible evidence to substantiate his claim of ill health,” Oyewale detailed.
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To him, the EFCC could not allow the latitude extended to the former minister to impede its investigations.
“Consequently, he was again invited to report on 8 December 2025, for further interrogation and was detained pending the fulfilment of his outstanding bail conditions.
“In light of the foregoing, claims by the former Attorney-General that his bail was revoked are clearly untenable.
“Equally unfounded and misleading are insinuations that the Commission barred him from granting media interviews or participating in political activities in Kebbi State.
“Such assertions are particularly surprising coming from a former Chief Law Officer of the Federation, as the EFCC has no interest in the political affiliations or activities of its suspects,” he added.
The Commission reiterated that it was strictly apolitical in the discharge of its statutory mandate.
“Indeed, a former governor and a senior member of the ruling party was recently arraigned by the EFCC over allegations of contract fraud, underscoring the Commission’s non-partisan posture,” he said.
The EFCC therefore advised Mr Malami to channel his efforts towards fulfilling the five bail conditions which he acknowledged and signed on 28 November 2025.
“It would also be in his best interest to cooperate fully with investigators rather than seek to whip up public sentiment through unfounded claims in the media,” he stressed.
