A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, on Friday denied a recent report that linked him to terrorism financing, saying the claim was false, misleading, and pushed for political reasons. He responded after seeing a publication that listed his name among people allegedly connected to terror suspects or people described as terrorism financiers.
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Malami said the claims did not match his record in public office and had no factual basis. He explained that at no time in Nigeria or abroad had he been accused, invited, questioned, or investigated by any security or intelligence agency on terrorism financing or related offences. He also pointed out that the retired military officer cited in the report admitted that he was not accusing him or the other individuals of funding terrorism. Instead, the officer had only spoken about vague business or institutional contacts some suspects may have had with various people.
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Malami said the publication created a false picture that was later used by his political rivals to push wrong ideas and mislead the public. He stated that terrorism financing is a serious crime and that anyone making such claims must rely on facts and proper investigations, not guesses or attempts to link lawful professional activities to crime.
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He said his work in office shows the opposite of what the report suggested. Malami listed reforms he led during his tenure, including the creation of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit as an independent body and the passage of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. He said these steps, taken with other agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria and law enforcement bodies, helped Nigeria later leave the FATF grey list.
Malami added that public service naturally involves dealing with a wide range of people, and such interactions should not be misread as proof of wrongdoing. He called on the media to be careful when reporting national security issues, saying careless reporting can damage reputations and weaken public trust in key institutions.
He said he remains committed to the rule of law and Nigeria’s global responsibilities and that he may take action against any report that misrepresents his work in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing.
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