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FLASHBACK: How Nigeria’s Attorney-General, Malami Violated COVID-19 Guidelines In 2020 To Hold Lavish Wedding Ceremony For Son

He has also been constantly accused of using his influence in the government to promote impunity and human rights violation.

On Tuesday, Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, defied the Nigerian government’s Twitter ban.

The government had last Friday banned Twitter after the App deleted a controversial comment made by President Muhammadu Buhari, in which he made reference to the Nigerian Civil War, which many Nigerians described as distasteful.

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Amidst the public outcry and criticism that followed the government’s decision, Malami on Saturday directed the Director of Public Prosecutions in his office to begin the process of prosecuting violators of the government suspension order.

However in a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, the Attorney General posted a screenshot from the Twitter app showing his account has been deleted.

“My Twitter account deactivated,” he wrote.

SaharaReporters further gathered that the Minister downloaded Virtual Private Network in order to visit Twitter to deactivate it.

A critical look at the photo by just clicking on it showed that indeed Malami had accessed his Twitter account with the aid of a VPN.[story_link align="left"]95055[/story_link]

This is however not the first time the Minister would be disregarding laws made by the Buhari-led government despite being the Chief Law Officer of the country.

He has also been constantly accused of using his influence in the government to promote impunity and human rights violation.

In July 2020, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols and guidelines were flouted during the wedding Fatiha of Malami’s son, Abdulaziz, to Khadija Danbatta as guests were seen in a video dancing and communicating close to one another without wearing face masks.

The Minister was also seen in the video spraying wads of cash at the event, against the rule of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which forbids anyone from abusing the naira by spraying and stepping on them in public.[story_link align="left"]82970[/story_link]

The lavish ceremony did not only breach the laid down protocols of the NCDC but also violated the stipulated number of persons approved to attend a social event at that time by the Nigerian government.

Not only did participants at the ceremony, which took place inside the Kano State Government House, more than 20, many of them did not wear face masks to protect themselves and others from contracting Coronavirus. 

Also, the large number of top serving and former government officials including leading players in various industries from across the country present at the ceremony showed that indeed more than a few private jets touched down in Kano on the date for the event.

Findings by SaharaReporters further revealed that a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, former Zamfara governor, Abdul'aziz Abubakar Yari, incumbent governor of Sokoto and Zamfara states, Aminu Tambuwal and Bello Muhammad Matawalle, were among dignitaries that graced the occasion with their entourage. 

A former Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Goni Ali Modu, House of Representatives Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Minister of Power, Engr Sale Mamman, and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kolo Kyari, are among other top functionaries present at the wedding inside the Kano State Government House.

Curiously, ex-Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, who was arraigned in court on May 5 this year by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged N714 million fraud also attended the elaborate ceremony in Kano on Saturday.

SaharaReporters gathered that the wedding ceremony also turned out to be a nightmare for motorists and commuters in Kano, one of the busiest cities in Northern Nigeria, who woke up to the sight of armed security personnel barricading roads in key locations within the metropolis.

In separate reports, SaharaReporters had revealed how Malami bought a N300 million mansion for his son and wife in Abuja as gift in addition to another N100 million property in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State constructed under less than two months.

Persons close to the AGF, told SaharaReporters that since being appointed into the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015, Malami, a lawyer not well known before then, had embarked on a relentless purchase and construction of property through alleged public funds.

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