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Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), was on Monday taken into custody by security operatives shortly after his release from the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja.

Operatives of the Department of State Services reportedly picked him up immediately after he exited the facility. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission clarified that it did not re-arrest Malami.

Officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed that Malami was released after meeting his bail conditions.

“He has been released. He perfected his bail conditions and was released this afternoon,” one official said. Another added, “He joined the DSS in their vehicle after his release.”

A video obtained by our correspondent showed Malami being led to a black vehicle shortly after leaving the correctional centre.

In the footage, he was heard asking, “Who is the oga among you? Can I see your ID card?”

Efforts to obtain comments from the DSS Deputy Director of Public Relations, Favour Dozie, were unsuccessful, as calls to her phone were not returned.

EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale, reiterated, “We didn’t pick him up after he was released.”

Malami’s release followed the granting of bail on January 7 by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The court granted bail to Malami, his wife, and his son in the sum of N500 million each, with strict conditions.

Each defendant was required to produce two sureties with verifiable landed property within Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarimpa, deposit property documents with the court, and submit affidavits of means.

They were also ordered to surrender their international passports and barred from travelling abroad without prior permission.

Malami, his wife Asabe, and his son had been remanded at Kuje following their arraignment by the EFCC on December 29, 2025, on a 16 counts, bordering on money laundering involving about N8.7bn.

The EFCC alleged that the defendants used multiple corporate entities, bank accounts, and high-value real estate transactions to conceal proceeds of unlawful activities.

Court documents (FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025) stated that Malami and his son allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over N1.01bn between July 2022 and June 2025, and another N600m allegedly passed through a Sterling Bank account linked to the company between September 2020 and February 2021.

Additionally, the EFCC claimed the trio disguised the origin of N500m used to purchase a luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Maitama.

Malami had been in EFCC custody since December 8, 2025, after failing to meet earlier bail conditions.

On December 18, a Federal Capital Territory High Court presided over by Justice Babangida Hassan, upheld his detention as lawful.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission will commence the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections this week, ahead of the February 21 polls.

INEC officials familiar with the exercise confirmed the development to our correspondent on Monday in Abuja.

One commission official said, “The PVC distribution will commence this week.”

Another official, who has knowledge of the commission’s election timetable, disclosed that the exercise would span several days.

“The PVC collection will commence this week, likely from Thursday to Sunday,” the official said.

The PVC distribution will cover newly registered voters, as well as those who applied for transfer of registration or requested updates to their voter details during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

The development follows INEC’s recent confirmation that 1,680,315 registered voters have been cleared to participate in the FCT Area Council elections.

The revised voters’ register was produced after the suspension of the CVR exercise in the FCT in October 2025 to allow for biometric de-duplication, public display of the register for claims and objections, and the compilation of a supplementary voters’ list.

INEC records indicate that about 93,868 PVCs remain uncollected at the commission’s FCT office, underscoring the need for eligible voters to take advantage of the exercise ahead of the polls.

The commission also disclosed that the backlog of uncollected PVCs from previous registrations would be made available for collection at designated centres during the distribution period.

Political campaigns for the elections, which commenced on September 24, 2025, are expected to end at midnight on February 19, 2026.

INEC has released the final list of candidates for the polls, with aspirants from 17 political parties successfully submitting their nomination forms.

The commission is currently undertaking other preparatory activities, including campaign monitoring, receipt of non-sensitive election materials, activation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, voter education and sensitisation, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.

A total of 68 positions will be contested in the election, comprising six chairmanship seats and 62 councillorship seats across the six area councils of the FCT—Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali and Abaji.

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The Nigerian Army has dismissed as false and misleading an online report alleging threats of mutiny by soldiers over salaries and allowances, describing the claim as sensational and detrimental to national security.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Appolonia Anele, said there had been no threat of mutiny within the Nigerian Army.

Anele said that such conduct was alien to its ethos, discipline and professionalism.

She said mutiny was a grave offence under military law and incompatible with the loyalty of Nigerian Army personnel to the Constitution and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Anele explained that the report relied on anonymous and unverifiable claims circulated through non-official channels, which did not reflect the views or disposition of officers and soldiers who were trained to address grievances through established military procedures.

Anele clarified that promotion increments were only one component of military pay and should not be misrepresented as total earnings.

According to her, military remuneration includes consolidated salaries, rank-based allowances, operational, field and hardship allowances, as well as other entitlements that vary based on deployment, qualifications and responsibilities.

She said the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with the Armed Forces of Nigeria and relevant government authorities, was implementing structured welfare reforms, including periodic reviews of salaries and allowances, enhanced operational incentives, improved accommodation, medical care and insurance packages for troops and their families.

The army spokesperson added that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, had, since assuming office, initiated constructive engagements with relevant authorities on troop welfare, with positive outcomes already emerging.

Anele reaffirmed that the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, remained committed to the welfare and operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces amid evolving security challenges.

She urged the public to disregard unfounded reports and rely on official communication channels for accurate information on the Nigerian Army.

(NAN)