A senior lawyer, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, has written an open letter to the Director-General of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Mr Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, accusing former Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, of introducing narco-terrorism to Nigeria.
In the letter, Dr. Jaja also named several high-profile individuals, including former Solicitor-General and Perm. Sec in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, SAN, Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, Sakaba Ishaku, and John O. Asein, as Malami’s accomplices.
According to Dr. Jaja, Malami’s actions during his tenure as Attorney-General were characterised by corruption and abuse of power.
He alleged that Malami would terminate criminal cases against financiers of terrorism and narco-terrorists after allegedly receiving inducements.
Dr. Jaja also claimed that Malami’s accomplices would write investigation reports exonerating culprits after they had allegedly given inducements to Malami.
Dr. Jaja provided the names of several individuals who could testify to the allegations, including Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, former Special Adviser on Prosecution to former President Muhammadu Buhari, and Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, former Director-General of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He also claimed to have access to information about the monies moved by John O. Asein, Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, for settling Malami.
Dr. Jaja called on the DSS to investigate Malami and his accomplices for their alleged roles in introducing narco-terrorism to Nigeria.
He said he believed that Malami’s actions had caused significant financial and emotional distress to honest Nigerians who worked with him at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
THE CONCLAVE reports that the allegations made by Dr. Jaja are serious and, if true, could have significant implications for national security and the rule of law in Nigeria.
However, the DSS has been urged to investigate the allegations and take necessary action to prevent further harm to the country.
The full text of the petition is reproduced below in extenso:
9th January 2026.
“OPEN LETTER TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DSS: HOW MALAMI INTRODUCED NARCO-TERRORISM INTO NIGERIA BUT HE DID NOT ACT ALONE, HE HAD ACCOMPLICES SUCH AS DAYO APATA, SAN, FORMER PERMANENT SECRETARY, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, MONDAY ONYEKACHI UBANI, SAN, SAKABA ISHAKU, AG. HEAD OF INVESTIGATION DIVISION, ICPC AND JOHN O. ASEIN, DG, NIGERIAN COPYRIGHT COMMISSION (JUST TO MENTION A FEW)”
By
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN.
Dear Director-General, Department of State Security Services (DSS) Sir,
By way of introduction my name is Tonye Clinton Jaja, I am a lawyer and I qualified in the year 2004, I am currently on a two year leave of absence in the Kingdom of Lesotho.
I make this statement as a public interest disclosure and place myself under oath in accordance with the Oath Act, 1963, that the contents of this open letter is 100% true and correct and verifiable.
Let me begin by stating that Sections 1A (2) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2022 provides the legal basis for DSS to prosecute Malami for his failure to prosecute financiers of terrorism during his tenure as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice between November 2015 to May 2023.
Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Esq. former Special Adviser on Prosecution to former President of Nigeria, (late Muhammadu Buhari) is an eyewitness that can be called upon to verify some of the claims that I am making in this written statement. His mobile phone number is +234 803 349 0404
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Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, former Director-General of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) can also be called to testify about some of the claims in this letter. His mobile phone number is +234 803 311 0110.
The former Director/CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU),
Bello Usman Hamman assigned me an officer with the phone number +234 805 460 7543. This is the person that provided me details of the monies that were moved around by Mr. John O. Asein, Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for settling Malami. I was allowed access to this information because by them I was the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission and we had received several petitions of embezzlement of public funds by the said John O. Asein.
Mr. Sakaba Ishaku, Ag. Head of Investigation Division, Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is another accomplice of Malami that should be questioned. His task was simply to write investigation reports that exonerates culprits after they have given inducements to Malami.
Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, former Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice is an accomplice of Malami in the art of termination of criminal cases against both the financiers and the narco-terrorists themselves.
He is currently the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Ekiti State. His WhatsApp phone number is +44 7946 236641.
Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, Esq. can testify to the number of criminal cases that Dayo Apata, SAN took away from him (Chief Okoi Obono-Obla) to prevent him from prosecuting after inducements had been given to Malami the overall boss.
Apart from the financial drain that Malami’s actions caused upon the Nigerian economy, there is also the psychological trauma and emotional distress that it inflicted upon the few Honest-Hearted Nigerians who worked in close proximity with Malami at the Federal Ministry of Justice. Due to their unwillingness to bend the rules as required by Malami they were often used as scapegoats and sacrificial lambs.
The former Director of Civil Litigation at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Adeyanju, his phone number is +234 803 912 9071.
It was Mr. Kayode Ajulo, SAN that called me and introduced me to Mr. Adeyanju in the year 2020/2021 to act as a therapist and counsellor to Mr. Adeyanju who was then undergoing psychological trauma because Malami had turned against him, Adeyanju for his refusal to do Malami’s biddings.
I was selected for this assignment because Mr. Kayode Ajulo, SAN had previously observed first-hand how I stood my ground against Malami in the year 2020.
NARCO-TERRORISM involves the criminal activities involving illicit drugs and terrorism, they are inter-related, the money obtained from sale of illicit drugs is used to finance terrorism and vice-versa, during his tenure, Malami by his refusal to prosecute both financiers of terrorism and terrorists themselves created an enabling environment for NARCO-TERRORISM to be introduced and thrive within Nigeria.
For the foregoing reasons, Malami ought to be prosecuted by the Department of State Security Services (DSS) under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2022.
An Order of the Federal High Court Abuja can be obtained for his remand (under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015) during the investigation by the DSS, the DSS does not need to wait for him to be released from the Kuje prison.
Yours faithfully,
E-Signed,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
Executive Director,
Nigerian Law Society, Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
+2349056760119
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, Mr Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, accusing former Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, of introducing narco-terrorism to Nigeria.){kind=link}