AGF denies frustrating recovery of looted funds

 

•Malami replies Buhari’s query

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami has denied allegation that he was frustrating moves by the Federal Government to recover looted public funds.

Malami’s position is contained in his response to a query issued to him in relation to a petition written against him to President Muhammadu Buhari by a security expert, George Uboh, of Panic Alert Security System (PASS).

Uboh was engaged by the AGF on February 9 to recover public funds stashed away by individuals in different Nigerian banks and some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The minister revoked Uboh’s appointment through a letter dated March 24 on the grounds that he exceeded his brief.

Angered by the development, Uboh petitioned the President, alleging among others, that the minister had allegedly entered into an unholy alliance with authorities of the affected banks.

He was particular about the case of Access Bank Plc, alleging that a senior official of the bank called him, few days before Malami revoked his contract, that the AGF has agreed to prevail on him to soft pedal.

Uboh’s petitions are captioned: “AGF Malami’s failure to recover over N300 billion traced by our firm within 27 days; AGF worked against us” and Abubakar Malami’s failure to allow us trace the N1.993 trillion EFCC failed to remit to the FGN, while promising to set up a phantom committee to investigate EFCC.”

Malami described as false Uboh’s claims that he deliberately frustrated him in his (Uboh’s) effort to recover the over N300 traced to some Nigerian banks, and that he (Malami) made an unholy alliance with the banking sector mafia not to cooperate with PASS, and/or that he promised Access Bank that he would call Uboh to soft pedal on the bank.

The AGF said: “I must state that the above allegations are untrue, incorrect, false, a figment of the imagination of the author and a smear campaign by Dr. Uboh to tarnish my name.

“I did not make, never made and will never make any alliance with anyone in and outside of the banking industry to frustrate PASS or any firm from recovering any FGN’s funds stashed/trapped in the listed banks or any bank or company in Nigeria or elsewhere.