By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, dismissed claims making the rounds that a syndicate allegedly from the Ministry sold Federal Government's recovered properties.

The report added the sales happened without the knowledge of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

The minister therefore responded in a statement saying he has not officially started the sale of Federal Government’s property, adding that a five-man probe panel has been set up to verify the authenticity of the media report.

"The attention of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has been drawn to a media report which allegedly claims

It is important to set the record straight that the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has not officially started the sale of Federal Government’s property". Malami said.

In the statement Malami stated that neither he nor his office approved the alleged sales of federal government recovered properties.

"The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN did not approve and was not aware of and did not order the sale of any of such properties.

"To this end, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN has set up of a 5-member Committee to investigate and verify the authenticity of the media report which allegedly claims that syndicate from the Federal Ministry of Justice sells Federal Government's recovered properties without the knowledge of the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice". Said the release.

The composition of the members of the committee, Gwandu stated, was made known in a circular signed by the Solicitor- General of the Federation, U. E. Mohammed, ESQ dated 29th November 2021, and titled “The Constitution of a Committee to investigate the alleged sale of Federal Government of Nigeria’s Property by syndicate in the Ministry”.

“A committee is hereby constituted to investigate the allegation with the view to unravelling the veracity or otherwise of the Publication” the circular reads in part.

The Committee chaired by the Director Public Prosecution of the Federation which was inaugurated on Tuesday, November 30, was saddled with the responsibility and task of unveiling the factuality and accuracy of the publication and recommends ways of handling the matter in accordance with the provisions of the extant laws.

According to the circular, the committee was expected to complete the assignment within a period of one week and submit the report of their investigation to the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Malami, therefore, called on members of the general public especially those who interacted with the alleged syndicate group or have information or possesses any evidence to open up and provide information that could be helpful to committee in discharging its responsibility.

“Individuals, groups, companies, institutions or organisations that claimed to have associated with the alleged syndicate from the Federal Ministry of Justice in relation to purchase of houses, landed property, vehicles, vessels, plants and machineries belonging to the Federal Government are encouraged to come out with any information, evidence or document regarding the alleged sales," he said.

According to the statement the Secretariat of the Investigation Committee can be contacted at the Office of the Director Public Prosecution of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice and be reached within one week from 1st December, 2021 or via email: investigation.committee@justice.gov.ng.

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