Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, has alleged that assets recovered from ex-Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, fall far short of N270 billion, representing less than a quarter of funds purportedly misappropriated during the previous administration.
Abubakar Malami
Maina made the claim on Thursday while receiving the Rule of Law and Courage Award from the Garki branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, asserting that authorities have merely scratched the surface and that significantly more can be retrieved from Malami to bolster national coffers.
He praised the current administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in probing high-profile cases, contrasting it sharply with the tenure of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Malami allegedly stole a lot of funds. What the government has seen so far is not even one quarter. 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,” Maina declared, underscoring the need for thorough recovery efforts.
In a startling recollection, Maina narrated an episode during his time abroad when top officials—including the late President Buhari, former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, ex-National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, and Malami—allegedly travelled to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to implore him to return to Nigeria.
He recounted rejecting their entreaties, prompting them to pressure his mother for intervention, citing intelligence from former President Goodluck Jonathan about Maina’s role in recovering N1.63 trillion in pension funds during Jonathan’s era—a claim he said could be verified by ex-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala alongside 227 properties.
“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 stated, expressing disbelief at the episode.
The allegations come amid ongoing legal proceedings against Malami, who is facing trial alongside his son and wife on money laundering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Arraigned recently, Malami was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja before securing bail in the sum of N500 million from a Federal High Court in Abuja on January 7.
Maina’s intervention highlights persistent scrutiny over financial misconduct in public office, with the ex-pension boss positioning himself as a whistleblower advocating fuller asset recovery to advance anti-corruption drives.
