The Games Malami Played

The number of judgment debts Nigeria had to fight in court during the guardianship of Abubakar Malami as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation was always suspect, especially those instituted in international courts and arbitration panels.

The most vexing were the P&ID case, where its promoters tried to milk Nigeria out of $11bn, the Global Steel Holdings case involving Ajaokuta, in which Malami presided over a $496m settlement in 2022, and Nigeria paying.

There was also the $418m Paris Club judgment debts case, in which Malami supported deductions from the treasury, and payments were made to several companies and individuals.

There were several others, including the RIOk Nigeria case, in which a settlement was reached, and an unspecified amount was paid; the ancient OPL 245 Malibu case, which Malami sought to insert himself into; and now a final judgement delivered involving Sunrise Power.

Some predated his time in office, but he elevated the legal disputes to a top priority, encouraged the government to settle, and actively pushed the Ministry of Finance to cough up the money. Now Nigerians know why.

It’s no exaggeration to say the recent ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Tribunal in Paris, France, on the judgment debt involving Nigeria and Sunrise Power in the Mambilla Power Project was damning.

The tribunal essentially described Malami as double-dealing, the $200m settlement, which later made $400m, and Sunrise used to drag Nigeria to court as corrupt.

And despite the enormous powers the constitution places in the Office of the AGF, an international court has now determined the office itself can’t bind Nigeria to commercial agreements without presidential approval.

President Bola Tinubu publicly congratulated his Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, on the judgment.

Yes, it was the government that came out victorious. But it was still damning for the Presidency and the Office of the AGF, and it completely stripped Malami of any claim to patriotism, responsible citizenship, and trustworthiness.

The ruling exposed how power is exercised in Nigeria without checks at different levels, especially in an age when fraud, financial crimes, and commercial espionage are rampant, and often emanate within the system.

Law enforcement agencies shouldn’t just be watching citizens and aliens alike; they should be monitoring one another. That is clearly absent within the government.

Starting with the presidency. The most obvious failing is with the Chief of Staff, who should have been a gatekeeper. The ICC tribunal’s ruling showed that President Muhammadu Buhari didn’t have access to independent advice, contrary to what his AGF was urging him to do.

The only refrain in the opinion of the judges was that the president didn’t want to part with that sum of money. In reality, there should have been a legal adviser in the presidency offering a second opinion.

Then, outside the presidency, the fact that the settlement agreement wasn’t flagged early raises questions about whether elements within the Finance Ministry and other relevant agencies were co-opted into the schemes.