The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has faced intense scrutiny from the House of Representatives on Thursday regarding the alleged unlawful sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in China, amounting to over $2.4 billion.
Accompanied by Beatrice Jedy-Agba, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice/Solicitor-General of the Federation, Malami appeared before the House’s committee responsible for investigating the reported loss of revenue resulting from the illicit sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil exports in 2015, as well as all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 to the present.
Despite the submission of documents to the committee in response to a previous request, the lawmakers demanded additional evidence.
While reaffirming his previous stance on the allegations and the ongoing investigation, Malami also appealed to the lawmakers to provide him with any relevant documents and facts at their disposal to facilitate the probe.
In the course of the proceedings, Chairman of the committee, Mark Gbillah, acknowledged the receipt of confidential communication from President Muhammadu Buhari concerning the specific matter.
Gbillah indicated that they would address the matter privately with Malami, respecting the classified and confidential nature of the information.
Gbillah further emphasised, “We are not pursuing a baseless endeavor. I want to make that clear for the record.”
