A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday rejected an application seeking to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, from custody.
Malami, who has been in detention for about 10 days, is under investigation over several allegations, including alleged financial malfeasance in the utilisation of recovered assets and reported links to terrorist financing.
The former minister has consistently denied all the allegations against him.
Although the EFCC granted Malami administrative bail on November 28, he was re-detained on December 8 after reporting for further interrogation. Malami alleged that his bail was arbitrarily revoked following his attendance at a political rally in Kebbi State, a claim the EFCC denied, insisting that he failed to perfect the bail conditions.
Determined to secure his release, Malami, through his legal team led by Dr Sulaiman Hassan, SAN, approached the court to challenge his continued detention, describing it as unlawful and unconstitutional.
He urged the court to enforce his fundamental human rights and order the EFCC to release him forthwith.
However, the EFCC, through its counsel Chief Jubril Okutepa, SAN, opposed the application and urged the court to dismiss it for lack of merit. The anti-graft agency argued that Malami’s detention was pursuant to a valid remand order issued by Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the FCT High Court.
The EFCC maintained that it is a law-abiding institution and would not detain any suspect beyond the constitutionally prescribed period without a court order.
In his ruling, Justice Babangida Hassan held that Malami failed to place sufficient evidence before the court to establish that his detention was illegal. The judge noted that granting the application would amount to sitting on appeal over the decision of a court of coordinate jurisdiction.
“Asking this court to grant this application is tantamount to inviting the court to sit as an appellate court over an order made by a court of coordinate jurisdiction, which this court has no power to do,” Justice Hassan ruled.
Malami, who was also accused of operating suspicious bank accounts, has previously claimed that his prosecution was politically motivated, linking it to his membership of a coalition of political parties opposed to the current government and to an investigation report he said indicted the incumbent EFCC Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede.
