Former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to step up its effort to recover more assets linked to former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Fielding questions from the media while receiving the Rule of Law and Courage Award in Abuja, Maina hinted that the recovery made from the former Attorney General of the Federation represents far less than a quarter of what was allegedly misappropriated.
“Malami allegedly stole a lot of funds. What the government has seen so far is not even one quarter,” Maina said.
“We can recover these funds from Malami. There is more than what has been seen. What is 270 billion? Yes, the government is doing the right thing. There must be accountability, transparency and the rule of law, which is what I see the government doing as against what the latter.”
Maina noted that more can and should be recovered from Malami, praising the current administration for its commitment to transparency and the rule of law.
He recounted an incident where top officials, including the late President Buhari, attempted to persuade him to return to Nigeria while he was abroad, claiming they pressured his mother to convince him as well.
This pressure was partly due to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s success in recovering 1.63 trillion Naira during his tenure.
“All these things happened during the last administration. I don’t believe this could happen in this administration. How could somebody come to Abu Dhabi?
The late President Muhammadu Buhari was there, Kemi Adeosun was there, Babagana Monguno, former NSA, was there, and Abubakar Malami was there,” Maina said.
“They begged me, and I refused to come to Nigeria. They went back to Nigeria and made my mother insist that I come back to Nigeria because Jonathan had told them that I recovered 1.63 trillion during his time; this can be ascertained by Okonjo-Iweala and 227 properties.”
Malami is currently on trial with his family for money laundering charges and was recently granted bail of 500 million Naira.