Malami's reaction followed an exclusive report by SaharaReporters on Friday where it was revealed that social distancing guideline of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control was breached by guests, who failed to wear face masks and were closely interacting during the event.
Nigeria's Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has confirmed that indeed there was 'naira rain' at a lavish wedding ceremony for his son, Abdulaziz, and his bride, Khadija Danbatta, held recently.
Malami's reaction followed an exclusive report by SaharaReporters on Friday where it was revealed that social distancing guideline of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control was breached by guests, who failed to wear face masks and were closely interacting during the event.
The report also exposed how wads of United States dollars and Nigerian naira were sprayed on the young couple by guests, who were more than 20 -- in contradiction of NCDC protocols and also in violation of a rule by the Central Bank of Nigeria forbidding the country's currency from being abused in public.
The exclusive report by SaharaReporters also revealed how Malami booked several private jets ahead of the second leg of the lavish ceremony in Kano today (Saturday) to fly important dignitaries from across the country to the event while also purchasing a N300m mansion in Abuja for the new couple to help them start their marital journey on a strong footing.
These breaches occured despite Malami being Nigeria's chief law officer.
But reacting to the report through his spokesperson on Saturday, Umar Gwandu, Malami while trying to deny some of the points made in the report, indirectly confirmed that there was indeed 'naira rain' at the ceremony, stating quickly that they were not in support of it.
He denied purchasing a house for his son and wife despite evidence to the contrary. [story_link align="left"]82970[/story_link]
“God knows that I did not purchase any house for him in Abuja. Not even a rented house was secured for my son in Abuja because he has no plan to live in Abuja.
“It is important to note that the wedding fatiha took place in Kano on Saturday, 11th July, 2020 in the morning.
“Any other activity before or after the wedding fatiha is not connected with the marriage, and we therefore disassociate ourselves from it in its entirety,” Malami said through Gwandu.
The AGF did not deny that it was his son, daughter-in-law and guests that were in the now viral video were wads of cash were sprayed on them while dancing to Hausa/Fulani music.
The video also sufficiently punctures the lie of the AGF that social distancing guideline and Coronavirus safety measures were not breached during the ceremony.
Curiously, Melami’s reaction comes few hours after documents showed how he gave approval to an oil firm standing trial in court for stealing crude oil to auction the illegal consignment.
In one of the approvals, the AGF mandated the firm, Omoh-Jay Nigeria Limited, to sell five vessels despite the fact that the firm and its Managing Director, Mr Jerome Itepu, stood trial at the Delta State High Court, Asaba, for allegedly stealing about 12,000 metric tonnes of crude oil loaded in a vessel, MT Akuada a.k.a. MT Kua, valued at N384m in 2009.
Apart from this matter, instances of Malami taking over high profile corruption and human rights abuses cases and truncating such against public interest abounds.
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