“We need money from recovered loot to function” – AGF Malami

The Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Monday, November 8, said that part of the funds from recovered loot should be used to finance “recovery operations” of the ministry.

Malami while saying this, stated that adequate funding of Ministry of Justice will enable the recovery of looted funds stashed in foreign banks.

His words: “Presently, we are making efforts to ensure that we are allocated some cost of collection from recovered funds to finance our recovery operations”.

“More funding will enable recovery of “large sums of illicit money stashed abroad,” Mr Malami told House of Representatives Committee on Justice, while defending his ministry’s proposed 2022 budget on Monday”, he said.

He stated that all government ministries especially the Justice Ministry is currently faced with inadequate funding.

“The justice sector as presently constituted is bedevilled by funding inadequacies, too much for our comfort. Lamentably, however, practically all the parastatals under the purview of the federal ministry of justice are in dire need of funding.”

He added: “For me, this is as dangerous as it is disturbing because funding gaps in the face of competing challenges could endanger the effective administration of justice, and cause an unwarranted travesty of justice”.

AGF Malami’s request for funding of government ministries comes amid calls for accountability and transparency in the management of recovered loots and assets by the federal government.