Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has denied reports linking him to terrorism financing, describing the allegation as baseless and misleading.
In a strongly worded statement, Malami maintained that all his engagements throughout his career have been strictly lawful and professional. He stressed that he has never faced any form of inquiry related to terrorism.
“At no point in my public life during or after my tenure has, he been summoned, questioned, targeted or investigated by any security, regulatory or intelligence authority in Nigeria or abroad in relation to terrorism financing.”
He further reinforced his position with another firm declaration: “I state clearly and unequivocally that I have never at any time been accused, invited, interrogated, investigated or charged by any security, law-enforcement, regulatory or intelligence agency within or outside Nigeria in respect of terrorism financing or any related offence.”
Malami explained that the report in question relied on comments by a retired military officer, who merely referenced that some unnamed terror suspects once had “institutional” or “business” dealings with different individuals. According to Malami, this was never presented as proof of sponsorship of terrorism.
“That important clarification was unfortunately overshadowed by a headline and framing capable of misleading well-meaning members of the public into drawing inaccurate and damaging conclusions.”
He accused political opponents of exploiting the report and twisting its narrative for ulterior motives, adding that equating legitimate professional engagements with terrorism support is deeply unfair.
“To suggest that lawful professional or institutional engagements can, without more, be read as evidence of terrorism financing is both mischievous and unjust.”
Malami also defended his record while in office, stating that his administration worked actively to reinforce Nigeria’s security framework.
“During my tenure, I worked with domestic and international partners to strengthen not undermine Nigeria’s anti-terror-financing regime. Any attempt to recast this as complicity is politically motivated and devoid of evidentiary basis.”
He concluded by urging Nigerians to be cautious of politically driven narratives disguised as intelligence disclosures.
“Public discourse must differentiate between verified intelligence and politically massaged narratives presented as investigative findings.”
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