House of Representatives Grill Malami, Over $2.4 Billion Illegal Oil Sale

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral National Assembly, is questioning Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), over an alleged illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil worth over $2.4bn in China.

The House’s Ad Hoc Committee, which was set up to investigate the alleged loss of revenue from this sale that reportedly took place in 2015, invited Malami and Beatrice Jedy-Agba, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, to appear before it.

Malami, who is appearing for the second time since the probe began, maintained his previous position that the allegation was baseless and unfounded. He also asked the committee to provide him with any relevant documents to aid the investigation.

Malami had earlier testified on April 27, 2023, that there was no evidence to support the claim that 48 million barrels of crude oil, worth over $2.4bn, were illegally sold to China.

He said that the allegation, which first surfaced on social media in 2016, was not backed by any concrete facts. He added that the origin of the product in China was never verified, nor were there any details about the vessels used to transport the oil.

He also noted that the Chinese authorities had not acknowledged receiving or possessing the product.

Malami concluded, “They were not available at our disposal at all.”

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