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Posted By Admin On December 24th, 2025

Nigerian legislative lawyers, under the aegis of Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to disqualify the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council from standing as surety for former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.

A Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, had on Tuesday granted interim bail to Malami, who is being detained bf the EFCC over an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption.

Justice Bello Kawu granted Malami bail on the same terms earlier considered by the EFCC, including the surrender of his international passport and the execution of bail bonds by two sureties.

The sureties include the Director-General of the Nigerian Legal Aid Council and a serving member of the House of Representatives representing the Augie/Argungu Federal Constituency.

However, in a letter dated December 24, 2025, and addressed to the EFCC chairman, ALDRAP said the DG of the Legal Aid Council should be disqualified from standing as surety for Malami.

The letter is titled ‘Request for application of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, for the disqualification of the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria as one of the two sureties for former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, because of his 0% score in the 2024 anti-corruption index of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’.

The letter, signed by ALDRAP Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, was made available to journalists on Wednesday.

The legislative lawyers association noted that the the DG of the Legal Aid Council is not fit and proper to stand as surety for Malami due to the agency’s failure to comply with the ICPC ethics and integrity index.

Parts of the letter read, “By way of re-introduction our Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, is incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 in the year 2017.

“We ensure that both individuals and institutions comply with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, and other relevant laws.

“We write to request the disqualification of the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria who has submitted himself as one of the sureties for bail of Abubakar Malami.

“The reason is because he fails to meet the criteria for sureties as set out under Section 167(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“You can verify this by cross-checking with the Chairman of the ICPC who has just published a list of federal government agencies that scored zero percent in the anti-corruption index of the year 2024.

“The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria which is currently headed by the said Director-General is listed amongst the Federal Government agencies that scored zero percent (0%).

“The implication is that such a person who refused to comply with the ICPC anti-corruption index is not fit and proper to stand as surety for Malami who is himself undergoing investigation and prosecution for corruption.”

Source: https://dailypost.ng/2025/12/24/malami-legislative-lawyers-ask-efcc-to-disqualify-legal-aid-council-dg-as-surety/