Okoi Obono-Obla, a former chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), has made startling allegations against high-ranking officials in the Buhari administration, including former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, for undermining his efforts to tackle corruption.
According to a report by Punch, the former SPIP chairman accused Malami of being dismissive and sarcastic when he raised the issue and claimed that his suspension alongside Ibrahim Magu, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was orchestrated by the Attorney General and the Presidency due to his stubborn approach to fighting corruption.
Chief Okoi Obono said, "When Magu (the former EFCC chairman) and I left, we didn’t hear anything again about fighting corruption. Both of us had a similar fate; we were stepping on toes and too stubborn. In fact, Malami’s close associate once told me, ‘you—Obla and Magu—are very stubborn,’” he stressed. All the problems I had, Malami was behind them."
"The president wouldn’t have removed me without his input. He would joke to my wife if I had now recovered the billion dollars I wanted to recover from the firm that mailed me. I was not dismissed; I was suspended, and till date, the suspension has not been lifted," Chief Okoi Obono emphasised.