Crime
Just In: Malami’s Billions Traced To Abacha Loot, Paris Club Refunds, CBN Agric Loans
Just In: Malami’s Billions Traced To Abacha Loot, Paris Club Refunds, CBN Agric Loans
Just In: Malami’s billions traced to Abacha loot, Paris Club refunds, CBN agric loans. Investigators have linked a bulk of the wealth of Abubakar Malami, the former attorney-general of the federation, to a number of sources, TheCable can report.
At the top of the list are Paris Club refunds made to states, unpaid loans taken from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the anchor borrowers programme, and the restitution of Abacha loot to Nigeria.
Malami has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ahead of his arraignment before a federal high court in Abuja.
Properties estimated at over N200 billion have been traced to Malami. The assets are believed to have been acquired when he was attorney-general under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
He has denied all allegations in statements by his media team, alleging political persecution and promising to defend himself in court.
PARIS CLUB REFUNDS
On the legal advice of Malami, the federal government had decided to deduct $418 million from state allocations as payment to consultants over the Paris Club refund.
Nigeria had exited the Paris Club of creditors in 2005 after paying $12 billion in exchange for a write-off of $18 billion of its $30 billion debts accumulated from the early 1980s.
However, the federal government, under former President Obasanjo, paid the $12 billion from the federation purse regardless of how much was owed by the federal, state and local governments to the creditors.
After the states protested, it was decided that they should be refunded since most of the debts were taken by the federal government — with most states not owing foreign creditors.
Consultants were engaged by the federal government to calculate how much was to be refunded to the states, and they charged a commission in excess of $400 million.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) opposed the arrangement, but Malami insisted that the consultants must be paid from state allocations, to be deducted at source.
In a media spat between 2021 and 2022, the NGF accused Malami of pursuing “selfish interest” and alleged that he was working for the consultants rather than in the national interest.
“We’re constrained by the manner in which the honorable attorney-general has been going around various media houses and purporting to create the impression that this is a liability to which governors had committed themselves to and agreed to, even though he is very much aware that that’s not the case,” the NGF said.
“And we reject all of the claims that he has made on this issue. And we also insist that states will not give up on insisting that these purported claims are fraudulent and will not stand as far as governors are concerned and we would take every constitutional and legal means to ensure that these purported consultancy are fully litigated upon by the highest court in the land.”
After initially stopping payment, Buhari later gave his approval, much to the disappointment of the governors.
EFCC investigators have traced the bulk of Malami’s alleged sudden wealth to kickbacks from the deal, sources in the know told TheCable.
ANCHOR BORROWERS’ PROGRAMME
In 2015, the CBN launched the anchor borrowers programme (ABP) — a development finance initiative to boost local food production, create jobs, and reduce food imports.
The ABP was to provide farmers with farm inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and cash for labour, to enable them to increase yields and supply processors.
This was to create a value chain linkage from farm to market and supporting food.
Investigators discovered that Malami used the name of one of his wives, Hajiya Bashir Asabe, to get a N4 billion loan, which was never repaid.
The wife has now been charged to court along with him. The CBN dispensed over N1 trillion on the ABP and is yet to recover over N600 billion, fuelling speculation that a significant portion of the disbursements might have been slush fund for politicians.
ABACHA LOOT COMMISSION
In 2016, Malami hired the services of two Nigerian lawyers — Oladipo Okpeseyi and Temitope Isaac Adebayo — for the repatriation of $321 million stolen by Sani Abacha, the former military head of state.
The repatriation of the stolen funds started before the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
The monies had been recovered and frozen in 2013 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, but the repatriation process was stalled in 2015 following a lawsuit filed by the Abachas.
From 2013 to 2014, the federal government had engaged the services of Swiss lawyers, Enrico Monfrini and Christian Luscher, to recover the stolen funds from Liechtenstein and Luxembourg — and domiciled the monies with the attorney-general of Switzerland.
Nigeria had paid four percent of the recovered Luxembourg assets as professional fees and expenses to the foreign lawyers, in addition to roughly $6.8 million in fees paid to Monfrini for the Liechtenstein recoveries.
Malami’s Billions Traced To Abacha Loot
Since all the fees had been paid by Nigeria, it was only required that Malami, who was the then AGF, would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Swiss authorities and commit to an undertaking that the funds would be properly utilised.
However, in December 2017, Malami, in a suspicious move, engaged the services of the two Nigerian lawyers, which cost the country $16.9 million as commission and professional fees from the recovered funds.
Malami engaged the two lawyers to duplicate the job of the Swiss lawyers and get their own cut from the already done deal.
TheCable understands that Okpeseyi and Adebayo have been detained and interrogated by the EFCC.
“They made useful statements to the EFCC,” a source in the know told TheCable.
After the disbursement of the duplicated commission, payments were said to have been traced to Malami by investigators at the anti-graft agency.
EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video
EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.
Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.
EFCC
Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.
The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects, Trucks for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara
Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten individuals suspected of involvement in illegal mining activities along the Ilorin – Ogbomosho axis.
They were arrested on Sunday, February 1, 2026, following credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation in parts of Kwara and Oyo States.
The suspects, comprising nine truck drivers and one escort were intercepted and taken into custody in a well -coordinated sting operation. Solid minerals arrested with the suspects include lithium, tin, and lepidolite.
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects
The suspects have no requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals for their mining activities.
Other items recovered from the suspects are trucks loaded with the unlawfully mined materials.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government
List of 40 suspects detained over alleged plot to overthrow Tinubu Government. Nigerian security agencies have concluded investigations into an alleged coup plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with at least 40 suspects detained in connection with the conspiracy.
The suspects include senior military officers, a police officer, and several civilians accused of roles ranging from reconnaissance and funding to propaganda.
According to a Premium Times report, the arrests followed a covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS).
“Thirteen people were apprehended by the SSS, including two military personnel (one retired), one policeman, and ten civilians,” one source said.
In total, 16 serving military officers were detained for direct involvement, while others were linked to funding and incitement. Two civilians were reportedly recruited to incite civil unrest intended to justify the coup.
According to the online newspaper, one of the detained soldiers was said to have escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to insider accounts.
Recall that on Monday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that the investigation had been completed and forwarded to “appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.”
“Findings identified several officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” the military said, describing the act as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
Sources said authorities are now awaiting presidential approval to constitute a court-martial panel to try the indicted soldiers.
Investigations revealed that the coupists initially planned to disrupt the May 29, 2023 handover ceremony from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Tinubu, but the plan was shelved due to lack of funds and logistics.
The conspiracy was allegedly reactivated in 2025, after former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva purportedly transferred nearly ₦1 billion through multiple Bureau De Change accounts to fund the operation.
Sylva and a retired senior officer identified as Major General Adamu, both accused of bankrolling the plot, are reportedly at large.
Security sources said one of the fugitive suspects has been tracked to a South American country, though his precise location remained undisclosed for security reasons.
Investigators also uncovered a chilling plan to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
“They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country. Wherever they were, they would be assassinated,” one source revealed.
The plot allegedly relied on informants inside the Presidential Villa, who monitored the movements of top officials. The conspirators were to seize control of strategic locations such as the Presidential Villa, Niger Barracks, Armed Forces Complex, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Military
Hereunder is the full list of the alleged coupists arrested
MA Sadiq (Brigadier General) Army lHeadquarters Garrison
MA Ma’aji (Colonel) Defence Space Administration
S Bappah (Lt. Colonel) 525 Signal Regiment
AA Hayatu (Lt Colonel) 130 Battalion Main, Ogoja, Cross River State
P Dangnap (Lt Colonel) 134 Special Force Battalion
M Almakura (Lt Colonel) 197 Special Force Battalion
AA Jarma (Lt Colonel) CO, 35 Battalion Katsina
SM Gana (Lt Colonel) 115 Task Force Battalion
AD Dauda (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
JM GANAKS (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
AJ Ibrahim (Maj) Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans
MM Jiddah (Maj) 26 Battalion
MA Usman (Maj) 35 Battalion
D Yusuf (Maj) Forward Operating Base Molai (AHQ SG)
J Iliyasu (Maj) 3 Division Garrison
A Mohammed (Maj) 63 Brigade Garrison
DB Abdullahi (Lt Cdr) Naval Base Abuja
SB Adamu (Sqn Ldr) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)
NG Zuzu (Sqn Ldr) Headquarters, Nigeria Air Force Camp
G Binuga (Captain) 1 NMF Brigade
AA Yusuf (Captain) Nigerian Army of the School of Finance and Administration (NASFA)
1 Bello (Captain) 82 Division Garrison
SS Felix (Lt) 81 Division Provost Group
J Aminu (Lt) Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR)
Nasiru Ibrahim (WO) 82 Division Garrison
Sanda Usman (Sgt) 167 Special Force Battalion
Mohammed Zubairu (Sgt) 177 Guards Battalion
Momoh Audu (Cpl) 343 Artillery Regiment
Ahmed Ibrahim (Inspector) 24 Police Mobile Force, Presidential Villa
EO Victor (Navy Capt/Rtd) 3 Abraham Avenue off Odili Road, Port Harcourt
Umoru Zekeri Julius Berger, Villa Electrician
Y Nasiru (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Sambo Danladi (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Abdul Abdullahi (SSgt) 82 Division Garrison
Ali Isah Villa Ambulance Driver
ML Mohammed (Capt) 18 Battalion
UI Yusuf (Wg Cdr) International/Helicopter Flying School, Enugu
IM Gana (Maj Gen Rtd) No 34 A Army Estate, Kubwa, Abuja
Stanley Kingley Amandi Propagandist
Goni Bukar
Security sources confirmed that joint operations involving multiple agencies are underway to dismantle remaining cells and track fleeing suspects. The EFCC and SSS are also interrogating several civilians over alleged roles in funding, logistics, and coordination.
At least 25 military personnel are expected to face trial in connection with the plot, according to sources close to the investigation.
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