By Gara Gombe
I have been following events between Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the EFCC in recent times. I must say I am disappointed with the way some so-called commercial activists and social media bandits are being sponsored to attack the EFCC and ignorantly attempt to mislead the public about EFCC operations and who Abubakar Malami really is.
Let me begin by saying that 85% of those publishing and calling the EFCC all sorts of names because of the Malami case do not know who Abubakar Malami is. These people are sponsored maggots on social media. They are not lawyers, not prosecutors, but hungry e-rats who constitute a nuisance to our society.
The EFCC is doing one of the most difficult jobs in the world, fighting corruption in Nigeria. Let me also say clearly that Malami was my friend and my personal lawyer since 2006. As at that time, I knew the bank balance of his account in Bank PHB. That is why I said that 85% of those shouting political witch-hunt by the EFCC do not know anything about Malami.
Politics aside, if what the EFCC is doing is a witch-hunt, then it is a pleasant one, a pleasant witch-hunt that our country needs. The EFCC, I must admit, is not 100% clean, just like every human being and institution cannot be.
But the question is, Malami has a right to defend himself, but in a court of law. If the EFCC is accused of media trial, then why are those defending Malami engaged in media defence?
Currently, I personally took the EFCC to court because I sent a petition to them, but they failed to investigate the matter. I asked my lawyers to sue them for failing to do their job. The EFCC Act clearly states what constitutes their mandate. So I am not defending or speaking for the EFCC, but the truth must be told. What the antagonists of the EFCC fail to understand, or the questions they should ask, is whether Malami committed those offences he is accused of or not. If anybody thinks Malami did nothing wrong, that person should go to court and face EFCC prosecutors.
Malami stopped picking my calls as Minister of Justice because I reported a case of corruption and ell against his brother. Malami, as a friend, had an enlarged photograph of me and him in his Kano office dating back to 2006, but the day he became Minister, he removed it. As my lawyer and friend, I helped him a lot. When he wanted to be the National Legal Adviser of APC after the merger of CPC and other parties, I took him to Senator Kwankwaso, then my boss.
Kwankwaso asked him to go and settle with Senator Adamu Aliero first and come back.
The road in front of his office beside Federal Government College Kano, Zaria Road, was not motorable. He begged me to talk to Senator Kwankwaso, who then asked the Commissioner of Works, now Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, to look into it, and it was fixed.
It was Malami, as my lawyer, that I sent to court to stop the former Minister of Sports, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, from contesting as President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, which led to the emergence of Engr. Habu Gumel as President till today, although unfortunately Gumel disappointed us. Alhassan Yakumut, the S.A. Technical to Ndanusa, knows about this.
I am narrating all this background to show that I know Abubakar Malami far better than those miscreants shouting on social media, disparaging the EFCC and even organising protests, unfortunately.
The transition of Malami into a multi-billionaire is something only he can explain. The EFCC is not stupid. It cannot just cook up charges and assemble assets simply for a witch-hunt. Malami should carry his own cross. No amount of intimidation can stop the EFCC from doing its job. The questions are simple. Malami should go and explain where and how he acquired all these stupendous wealth and assets. It is as basic and elementary as ABC. Besides, he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
TO BE CONTINUED.
