Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami’s private residence in Abuja has been raided by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Confirming the development, Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Doka, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the EFCC action followed public references recently made by Malami’s office to Chapter 9 of the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry Report.

According to him, the anti-graft agency has detained Malami since 8 December, while carrying out a probe into corruption allegations against him, and had also carried out the raids on his property in Abuja and Kebbi in Kebbi State, his home state, on Wednesday.

He alleged that the operation was targeted at recovering copies of the chapter, which has become the centre of an ongoing dispute.

Doka accused Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, of acting with bias and called for his recusal from any process involving Malami.

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He described the scale and timing of the searches as unsettling, saying they raised serious questions about intent, legality and propriety.

Simultaneously, the EFCC also confirmed the raid while justifying its actions as necessary for its ongoing investigation of the former minister.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), specifically alluded to Chapter 9 of the report, which he said focused on Mr Olukoyede.

The Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry was inaugurated by the federal government in 2021 to examine allegations of corruption, abuse of office and the handling of recovered assets within the EFCC, particularly during the leadership of Ibrahim Magu, former EFCC chairman.

Although the panel submitted its report to the presidency in November 2021, the document has not been officially released, with only limited portions cited publicly.

Chapter 9 has since drawn attention due to claims that it contains findings relating to the conduct of senior government officials, including Malami, during his tenure as supervising minister of the EFCC.

The statement on Wednesday said, following the disclosure in the earlier press release, EFCC operatives “carried out coordinated raids on our offices and on the private residences of Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, in Abuja and Kebbi State.”

“These actions (were carried out without prior notice and were expressly directed at searching for documents allegedly connected to Chapter 9 of the Salami Report,” the statement added.