Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Wednesday said he would be glad to testify before the Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential panel if he’s summoned.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Malami said he has nothing to hide, thus he would not hesitate to appear before the panel to answer relevant questions.
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“So, if indeed the Ayo Salami panel invites Abubakar Malami as a person or the AGF in the person of Abubakar Malami for any testimony, for any clarification, for examination or cross-examination for that matter, Abubakar Malami will wholeheartedly, gladly within the spirit and context of the rule of law be there to testify, be there to be cross-examined, be there to be examined within the context of the rule of law.
“Our position as a government is to be submissive to the rule of law and the rule of law component requires that when we are called upon to clarify issues, when we are called upon to be examined, when we are called upon to be cross-examined, Abubakar Malami will be there and will gladly cooperate with the inquiry institution and that indeed was an attribute of the government that translated to the victory we are seeing today arising from P&ID.
“Abubakar Malami has along the line, within the chain of the arbitral process, submitted to uncountable invitations, responded to uncountable requests for clarification of issues and indeed executed uncountable witness statements for the purpose of putting the record straight and the case of Salami will certainly not be an exception,” Malami said.
Malami was reacting to a letter by the suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, through his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, calling on Salami to summon the minister.
Shittu had cited Section 36(a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Nigerian Constitution, saying: “Based on the foregoing, we humbly request that the Honourable Attorney General, who is the main accuser in these proceedings, be graciously invited to give evidence in connection with the subject matter of this inquiry with specific reference to our client in the interest of fair hearing.
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“We believe this request ought to be resolved before our client is called upon to enter his defence in these proceedings.”
The Salami panel is expected to determine the next step whether Malami and Magu would be invited together to confront one another or individually to answer various questions.
Idowu Sowunmi
