A group of Nigerian legislative lawyers has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to disqualify the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria from standing as a surety for former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
The lawyers, operating under the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), made the request following the grant of interim bail to Malami by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court amid an ongoing EFCC investigation into alleged corruption.
The court approved Malami’s bail on conditions that include the surrender of his international passport and the provision of two sureties. One of the listed sureties is the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council, alongside a serving member of the House of Representatives representing the Augie/Argungu Federal Constituency.
However, ALDRAP, in a formal letter addressed to the EFCC, argued that the Legal Aid Council DG does not meet the legal and ethical standards required to serve as a surety under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
According to the association, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria recorded a zero percent score in the 2024 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Index released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC). ALDRAP maintained that this performance raises serious concerns about the suitability of the agency’s leadership to vouch for a defendant facing corruption allegations.
The group stated that Section 167(1) of the ACJA requires sureties to be persons of integrity and sound standing, stressing that failure to comply with established anti-corruption benchmarks disqualifies any public official from acting in such a capacity.
ALDRAP further noted that allowing a public officer linked to an institution with poor anti-corruption compliance to stand as surety could undermine public confidence in the justice system.
The association therefore urged the EFCC to apply the provisions of the ACJA strictly and reject the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council as a surety in Malami’s bail process.
