By Anthony Ochela, Abuja
Former Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) was on Monday arrested and detained by the Department of State Services, DSS.
Malami was arrested shortly after his release from Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
His arrest is believed to be linked to allegations of terrorism financing and the discovery of arms and ammunition at his country home in Birnin Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital.
This came after the former AGF completed his bail conditions in connection with an ongoing case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged money laundering.
The EFCC had during the search of his residence in Birnin Kebbi, allegedly uncovered arms as part of their financial crime probe.
Since the illegal possession of firearms falls outside EFCC’s mandate, the anti-graft agency handed over the matter to the DSS for a detailed investigation.
Malami is facing a 16-count charge of money laundering involving over N8 billion filed against him by the EFCC.
He was arraigned alongside his wife, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz in the use of companies to acquire numerous properties across states.
Malami, his wife and son are being accused by the EFCC of using properties and Bureau-de-Change operators to disguise payments for high-end properties in various locations.
Although, the terrorism financing allegation was not part of the charges against Malami by the EFCC, he was accused of terrorism financing, a charge which he denied.
It was gathered that Malami’s troubles commenced when the EFCC began probing his activities while he was still serving as AGF, focusing on alleged corruption and money laundering.
Despite being granted bail, his release was stalled due to concerns over potential re-arrest by the DSS and was eventually taken into custody by the secret police, shortly after meeting his bail conditions.
