Graft allegations: Malami writes Buhari, says he’s not corrupt, lists income sources

 As Nigerians begin to pry into the financial status of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the minister has proactively written President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring he was not corrupt and has not taken a dime from the public till.

He listed in the letter all the sources of his income before he become a minister and how he came about them.

The AGF also declared that he was already a wealthy man, having been engaged in interest-yielding ventures, such as hotels, farms, food production and processing, restaurants and legal services spanning over 20 years, culminating in his recognition as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

Malami, in the letter, which he dispatched to the President in the wake of a petition by a coalition of civil society organizations to Mr. President accusing him of graft, drew Buhari’s attention to the assets declaration he filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, in 2015 when he was first appointed minister and what he filed in July last year upon his re-appointment into the same position in his government.

Malami said he was compelled to write to the Presidency in order to clear his name and set the record straight, in the wake of what appeared as a deliberate campaign of calumny by his detractors to tarnish his hard-earned reputation, an act for which he had already sued one of the online publishers.

The letter read: “I have taken a personal decision to seek remedy from the court as a result of the series of derogatory contents so published against me. In the same vein, I have written the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter.

‘’I, nonetheless, felt it is imperative to write Your Excellency on the subject above. This is because the crux of their campaign is to falsely portray me as a corrupt officer who used public office to acquire wealth and build an empire.

“On the contrary Your Excellency, since my appointment as a minister in your cabinet, I have conducted myself strictly within the confines of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended.