The immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has spoken about the arrest of Katsina State-born social critic, Mahdi Shehu.
Shehu was reported to have been arrested in Abuja by police operatives on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, a move that prompted a statement from the embattled social critic’s lawyer, M.I. Abubakar, who accused Malami of being behind his client’s arrest.
Shehu was arrested by the police for allegedly calling on President Bola Tinubu to probe former President Muhammadu Buhari and some top officials of his government.
Abubakar said his client was arrested and detained in Abuja on Tuesday by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit ostensibly on a petition written by Malami.
Speaking on the arrest and detention of Shehu, the former AGF, in a statement issued by his lawyer, M. E. Sheriff, on Thursday, described it as untrue and misleading.
“Without prejudice to the police investigation that is ongoing, the true facts relate to the Complaint/Petition which we wrote to the Inspector-General of Police on allegations bothering on extortion, criminal intimidation, and attempt to obtain money by false pretence against a syndicate using GSM Numbers and email addresses,” Sheriff noted.
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He said following the ongoing investigation into the complaint by the police, the sustained communications “between our clients and the syndicates, wherein the syndicate disclosed and gave Room Number 9,” in a hotel located in the Maitama area of Abuja.
The lawyer added: “On reaching the hotel and the room number, Mahdi Shehu was found therein at the scene with copies of documents that were used and sent to our client by the syndicate.
“Some of the documents which the police retrieved from Mahdi Shehu specifically lend credence to yet another petition of our client that bothers on hacking and financial improprieties affecting Hajiya Aisha Abubakar Malami.”
Sheriff said the sum of over N19 million was unlawfully taken out of Malami’s account.
He said: “The investigation and all the documents recovered thus far are there with the police for any person that cares to verify what we are saying.
“Therefore, we should all encourage, support, and allow the police to do their work as it is the outcome of the investigation that can confirm who is culpable and who is innocent; at the moment, if Mahdi Shehu has any explanation to make regarding the arrest, he should do so to the police but certainly not to the press or embark on a campaign of calumny via the social media.”
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