BREAKING: Ex-AGF Malami raises Alarm as DSS blocks Access to Family [DETAILS]
The office of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has accused state security agencies of taking steps it said were aimed at frustrating his right to fair hearing and weakening his ability to defend himself in court.
In a statement issued on Friday, Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, said recent actions by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) amounted to a deliberate attempt to obstruct due process and violate fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
The statement said Malami was granted bail by the Federal High Court after the EFCC filed charges against him. However, his office alleged that the anti-graft agency failed to promptly submit his international passports to the court, despite the documents being required to finalise bail conditions.
According to the statement, the EFCC delayed the submission for about one week, a development it said prolonged Malami’s continued detention and stalled the implementation of the court’s decision.
Malami’s office further claimed that immediately after he completed the bail process and was released from the Kuje Custodial Centre, he was rearrested by the DSS.
The statement alleged that he was held for five days without access to his lawyers or family, adding that his legal team was only granted access on Friday after what it described as prolonged isolation and unnecessary delays.
It also stated that the DSS detention took place at a crucial time when Malami was expected to prepare his defence in an EFCC interim forfeiture matter pending before the Federal High Court.
