Attorney general Abubakar Malami has explained why three of his protégés, whom he secured appointments for at the National Industrial Court, used the Federal Ministry of Justice as their mailing address.

Peoples Gazette on Thursday reported how a protégé of Mr Malami disclosed that the justice minister facilitated his and two others’ employment at the court.

Making what appeared as nepotistic appointments public, an overly excited Mohammed Lameer Sani Gado, who hails from the same state (Kebbi) as the minister, disclosed on his Facebook page that the appointment letters were issued on June 24, 2021, and took effect on June 30, 2021.

Thanking Mr Malami for using his office to facilitate their appointments at the court, Mr Gado added, “Our sincere appreciation goes to Attorney General Abubakar Malami, who is solidly behind this. May Allah reward you with jannatul firdausil Aalah, Amin. The three of us are Mohammed Lameer Sani, Shuaibu Ahmed, Abdulhadi Usman Bayaro.”

A spokesperson for Mr Malami, Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, told Peoples Gazette that any Nigerian could use the ministry address for correspondence.

“There are thousands of workers in the Federal Ministry of Justice. Each of the staff in the ministry may have friends, family members and relatives who might feel comfortable to use the ministry as their C/O address,” Mr Gwandu said.

“You do not have to be an ally of the minister before you use Ministry of Justice as your address. As a journalist, if you have any legitimate mail to receive, you can use the address of the Office of SA Media, Federal Ministry of Justice. I will gladly hand it over to you. It is a matter of personal choice,” he added.

Though Mr Gado publicly announced Mr Malami as the brains behind the employment, Mr Gwandu told The Gazette, “The executive and judiciary have independent existence. How sure are you that they are Malami’s allies? Do they not have access, and are they not in support of or having contacts of other public figures in the country?

“Are they not Nigerians who could be eminently qualified for employment in any sector? Is a Nigerian legally deprived of a privilege of employment on account of association in view of sanctity of freedom of association as established by constitution?”

In September 2020, The Gazette exposed how State Security Service DG Yusuf Bichi conducted a secret and lopsided recruitment of 535 northerners and just 93 southerners.