by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Former Attorney-General of Federation (AGF)-cum Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has been accused of allegedly introducing Narco terrorism into Nigeria, under President Muhammed Buhari.
Malami allegedly did the job alongside accomplices such as Dayo Apapa (SAN), former Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice; Monday Onyekachi Ubani (SAN); Sakaba Ishaku, AG Head of Investigation Division ICPC, and John O. Asein, DG Nigeria Copyright Commission.
The revelations were made in a statement, dated 9th January 2026, e-signed by Executive Director, Nigerian Law Society, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, attached with his GSM No. +2349056760119.
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, who is also the Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN, in an open letter addressed Director-General, Department of State Security Services (DSS), stated that these revelations were made in public interest, and placed himself under oath in accordance with the Oath Act, 1963, that the contents of this open letter are 100 percent true and correct and verifiable.
“Dear Director-General, Department of State Security Services (DSS). Sir, by way of introduction my name is Tonye Clinton Jaja; I am a lawyer and I qualified in the year 2004; I am currently on a two-year leave of absence in the Kingdom of Lesotho.
“I make this statement as a public interest disclosure and place myself under oath in accordance with the Oath Act, 1963, that the contents of this open letter are 100% true and correct and verifiable,” he stated.
He said “Let me begin by stating that, Sections 1A (2) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2022 provides the legal basis for DSS to prosecute Malami for his failure to prosecute financiers of terrorism during his tenure as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, between November 2015 to May 2023.
“Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Esq., former Special Adviser on Prosecution to former President of Nigeria (late Muhammadu Buhari), is an eyewitness that can be called upon to verify some of the claims that I am making in this written statement. His mobile phone number is +234 803 349 0404.
“Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, former Director-General of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), can also be called to testify about some of the claims in this letter. His mobile phone number is +234 803 311 0110.
“The former Director/CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Bello Usman Hamman, assigned me an officer with the phone number +234 805 460 7543. This is the person that provided me details of the monies that were moved around by Mr. John O. Asein, Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, for settling Malami.
“I was allowed access to this information because by then I was the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, and we had received several petitions of embezzlement of public funds by the said John O. Asein.
“Mr. Sakaba Ishaku, Ag. Head of Investigation Division, Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC), is another accomplice of Malami that should be questioned. His task was simply to write investigation reports that exonerate culprits after they have given inducements to Malami.
“Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, former Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, is an accomplice of Malami in the art of termination of criminal cases against both the financiers and the narco-terrorists themselves.
“He is currently the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Ekiti State. His WhatsApp phone number is +44 7946 236641.
“Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Esq., can testify to the number of criminal cases that Dayo Apata, SAN, took away from him (Chief Okoi Obono-Obla) to prevent him from prosecuting after inducements had been given to Malami the overall boss.
“Apart from the financial drain that Malami’s actions caused upon the Nigerian economy, there is also the psychological trauma and emotional distress that it inflicted upon the few Honest-Hearted Nigerians who worked in close proximity with Malami at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“Due to their unwillingness to bend the rules as required by Malami, they were often used as scapegoats and sacrificial lambs. The former Director of Civil Litigation at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Adeyanju, his phone number is +234 803 912 9071,” he added.
Accordingly, he further stated that, “It was Mr. Kayode Ajulo, SAN, that called me and introduced me to Mr. Adeyanju, in the year 2020/2021, to act as a therapist and counsellor to Mr. Adeyanju who was then undergoing psychological trauma because Malami had turned against him (Adeyanju) for his refusal to do Malami’s biddings.
“I was selected for this assignment because Mr. Kayode Ajulo, SAN, had previously observed first-hand how I stood my ground against Malami in the year 2020,” he stated.
According to him, NARCO-TERRORISM involves the criminal activities involving illicit drugs and terrorism; they are inter-related. The money obtained from sale of illicit drugs is used to finance terrorism and vice-versa.
During his tenure, Malami, by his refusal to prosecute both financiers of terrorism and terrorists themselves created an enabling environment for NARCO-TERRORISM to be introduced and thrive within Nigeria.
“For the foregoing reasons, Malami ought to be prosecuted by the Department of State Security Services (DSS) under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2022.
“An Order of the Federal High Court Abuja can be obtained for his remand (under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015) during the investigation by the DSS. The DSS does not need to wait for him to be released from the Kuje Prison,” he narrated.
The statement is titled, ‘Open Letter to Director-General, DSS: How Malami introduced Narco terrorism into Nigeria.’ “But he did not act alone, he had accomplices such as Dayo Apapa, SAN, former Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice; Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN; Sakaba Ishaku, AG Head of Investigation Division, ICPC, and John O. Asein, DG Nigeria Copyright Commission (just to mention a few).”