Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, has said that the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), is supposed to be in prison for all his corrupt practices instead of being recognised as a keynote speaker at a coalition event he (Sowore) described as a “Coalition of Mega Fraudsters.”
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), said this while reacting to Malami’s participation as a keynote speaker at a coalition meeting organised by the National Political Consultative Group (North) in Abuja on Sunday.
In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, Sowore criticised what he sees as the normalisation of corruption and impunity in Nigeria.
“Coalition of Mega Fraudsters: Imagine a country where a globally recognised thief like Abubakar Malami, Buhari’s former ultra-corrupt Minister of (in) Justice who was just leaving the evil APC a few weeks ago, became a keynote speaker and one of the biggest movers. People who should be cooling their feet in prison,” Sowore wrote.
Malami, who served as Attorney General of the Federation under former President Muhammadu Buhari, condemned the ruling APC for ignoring the struggles of citizens and putting politics ahead of their welfare during his keynote address at the meeting on Sunday.
Malami stated that rather than addressing pressing issues such as insecurity, economic hardship, and growing poverty, the APC has opted to focus on politics by endorsing President Bola Tinubu well ahead of an election that is still two years away.
In April, the former AGF debunked reports that he was planning to dump APC for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
But speaking at the coalition meeting on Sunday, Malami was quoted as saying, “Just a few days ago, the ruling party held its national summit and instead of addressing the serious issues of insecurity, economic hardship and rising poverty, it chose to focus on politics, endorsing President Bola Tinubu as sole candidate for the 2027 election that is still two years away.”
He urged stakeholders of the coalition to form a united front to “reclaim” Nigeria from Tinubu and the APC and create a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.
The meeting was attended by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, among other opposition leaders.
Meanwhile, Malami has faced multiple allegations of corruption and abuse of office during his tenure, though he has not been formally charged or convicted of any crimes.
In January 2020, SaharaReporters reported how Transparency International, a global coalition against corruption, accused Malami of frustrating high-profile cases since he assumed office in 2015 and had not been at the forefront of the anti-corruption fight.
The organisation alleged that Malami had not prosecuted any corruption case in the approximately five years he had been in office, but had instead watered down cases that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was investigating or that were before the court.
