DSS Wants To Rearrest Me After Bail, Malami Cries Out

Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by security agencies to rearrest him immediately after his release on bail.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, said the former minister’s office had been “reliably informed” of plots to effect a fresh arrest despite a valid court order granting him bail.

He warned that such a move would undermine the rule of law and endanger his safety.

According to the statement, intelligence available to Malami’s team indicates that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have mounted surveillance around the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja and are on standby to rearrest him on what were described as “trumped-up and unrelated charges” once he regains his freedom.

“This development is deeply troubling and raises grave concerns about due process, the rule of law, and personal safety,” the statement said, adding that the pattern of granting bail only for fresh arrests to follow amounts to an abuse of state power and a direct affront to judicial authority.

Malami’s camp recalled that a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory had earlier granted him bail in a related matter, but alleged that the order was frustrated when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to effect his release.
“We therefore place it clearly on record that the safety of Abubakar Malami, SAN, his family, and his staff is under serious threat,” Doka said, warning that any unlawful detention, intimidation or harm would be fully laid at the doorstep of those responsible.

The statement called on relevant authorities, the legal community, civil society groups and the international community to monitor developments closely and prevail on security agencies to act strictly within the confines of the law.

Earlier, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted Malami, his wife and son bail in the sum of N500m each over alleged money laundering charges.

Justice Nwite, who ruled on the bail application filed by their counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, ordered that each defendant provide sureties who own landed property in Abuja’s high-value districts of Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa.

The court further directed the defendants to submit their international passports and other travel documents, and barred them from leaving the country without prior approval.