The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami has distanced himself from the reported clandestine sale of government property recovered from looters.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja by his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu, the minister said his office had not officially started the sale of Federal Government’s property and that he was unaware of the reported sale of the recovered assets by a syndicate, as claimed in some reports.
“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) did not approve and was not aware of and did not order the sale of any of such properties.
“…Malami has set up of a five-member committee to investigate and verify the authenticity of the report which allegedly claims that syndicate from the Federal Ministry of Justice sells Federal Government’s recovered properties without the knowledge of the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
“The composition of the members of the committee was made known in a circular signed by the Solicitor General of the Federation, U. E. Mohammed, ESQ, dated November 29, 2021.
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“The circular was titled: ‘The Constitution of a Committee to investigate the alleged sale of Federal Government of Nigeria’s Property by syndicate in the Ministry.’
“A committee is hereby constituted to investigate the allegation with the view to unraveling the veracity or otherwise of the publication.
“The committee, chaired by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, which was inaugurated on Tuesday, was saddled with the responsibility and task of unveiling the factuality and accuracy of the publication and recommends ways of handling the matter in accordance with the provisions of the extant laws.
“According to the circular, the committee is expected to complete the assignment within one week and submit the report of its investigation to the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“Malami, therefore, called on members of the general public, especially those who interacted with the alleged syndicate group or have information or posses any evidence, to open up and provide information that could be helpful to committee in discharging its responsibility.
“Individuals, groups, companies, institutions or organisations that claimed to have associated with the alleged syndicate from the Federal Ministry of Justice in relation to purchase of houses, landed property, vehicles, vessels, plants and machineries belonging to the Federal Government are encouraged to come out with any information, evidence or document regarding the alleged sales.
“The secretariat of the Investigation Committee can be contacted at the Office of the Director Public Prosecution of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice and be reached within one week from December 1, 2021 or via email: investigation.committee@justice.gov.ng,” the statement said.
