The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Monday kept sealed lips over the freezing of accounts linked to alleged sponsors of EndSARS protesters.
Media reports say a Federal High Court in Abuja granted the request of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze the accounts of 19 individuals and a public affairs company linked to the protests.
The action has received condemnation from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and activists, who saw it as an attempt to drown the right to lawful protest and opposition.
Malami, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters on Monday, rebuffed attempts by journalists to seek clarification on the matter.
He simply looked away, maintaining a tight face and sealed lips.
However, the Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), said legislators first learnt of the action through the media.
Speaking with journalists, Bamidele said the legislature would liaise with the executive to know what was going on.
He said, “We read it in the news like everyone of us. Our committee is also interested in knowing what is going on in this regard. As it is our committee is neither in a position to either explain or defend.
“We will reachout to the executive. And if it is true what the stakeholders in charge are trying to achieve with this.”
Opeyemi also disclosed that the committee was unaware but would investigate the recent arrest and imprisonment of six Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over allegations of sponsoring the terror group, Boko Haram.
He said the committee would work with the relevant committee of the House Of Representatives on the amount earmarked for the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects.
He added that the joint committee would scrutinize the 2021 budget of the judiciary so as to “get justification for what they are proposing for 2021 even to the last kobo.”
Bamidele said, “These are some of the issues before us as a committee. It’s not just the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, the House Committee on Justice is also working with us on this matter.
“That is the whole essence of this matter. They come and they’ve made their presentation and we are interested in how the money appropriated last year was spent even to the last kobo.
“Part of the reason you saw that we couldn’t conclude the Attorney General is because there is need for more engagements. There’s a need for further explanation and documentation on the figures that we have before us. It will be premature to make any statement or come to any conclusion.”
He assured of the committee’s readiness to ensure that that all that had been spent was accounted for.
“I think a lot has happened in the last one year in terms of extra budgetary spending and sometimes this is to be expected in a country that is prosecuting a war,” he added.
