- Former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami clarifies that whistleblower Mahdi Shehu was arrested for attempted extortion, not for urging investigation
- Malami’s legal team, led by lawyer A.A. Sherif, rejects Shehu’s accusations and reveals his arrest was for extortion-related charges
Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has provided clarification regarding the arrest of whistleblower Mahdi Shehu, asserting that Shehu was apprehended for attempted extortion.
Earlier reports had indicated that Shehu claimed, through his lawyer Mohammed Abubakar, to have been arrested in Abuja for urging President Bola Tinubu to investigate former President Muhammadu Buhari and some top officials.
In a statement from Malami’s legal team, signed by lawyer A.A. Sherif, it was alleged that Shehu was arrested in Kaduna while attempting to extort his wife, Aisha, for a sum of $500,000.
Sherif rejected Shehu’s accusations and revealed that the suspect was detained on charges related to extortion, criminal intimidation, and attempted fraud. Shehu was accused of using GSM numbers and email addresses to deceive individuals and obtain money through fraudulent means.
“Our attention has been drawn to the above press statement made on February 7, 2024, as well as that of January 2024; and we, as solicitors to Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, and his family, noted with grave concern that the press statement is not correct, misleading, malicious, and a gross misrepresentation of the facts leading to the arrest. Therefore, we write to set the record straight for the benefit of the public. Without prejudice to the police investigation that is ongoing, the facts relate to the complaint/petition which we wrote to the Inspector-General of Police on allegations bothering on extortion, criminal intimidation and an attempt to obtain money by pretence against a syndicate using GSM numbers and email addresses,” the letter reads.
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