There is no basis upon which Transparency Int’l report on Nigeria can stand —AGF Malami

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said on Monday there was no justification for the Transparency International report on Nigeria.

Transparency International had last month ranked Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in West Africa.

In a 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on January 25, Nigeria was ranked 154 out of 180 countries surveyed after scoring 24 out of 100 points.

The country dropped five places from its previous 149th position for 2020.

Malami, who featured in a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, said the Nigerian government has performed creditably well in the fight against graft in the country.

READ ALSO: Presidency slams Financial Times over article on Buhari’s govt

He said the ministry has taken steps to ensure diligent prosecution of corruption cases in Nigeria.

The AGF said the federal government and the United States Government are holding talks on the possible extradition of the suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, over his alleged link with a suspected fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi.

He said: “On stolen assets, two or three major recoveries have been made. One was from Switzerland in 2017. The money was used to find social investment programmes such as N-Power, Tradormoni etc.

“In 2020, another was recovered from the United Kingdom, Island of Jersey, and the US. They were used for national projects such as the Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Ibadan roads, and the Second Niger Bridge.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now