Court releases Malami, his spouse and child on N200m bond amid EFCC prosecution

The Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, his wife, and their son on Friday, as their N9 billion money laundering trial continues before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The trio is facing a 16-count charge related to alleged money laundering, with the former AGF being prosecuted alongside his family members.

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The trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, instructed the EFCC to call its first witness after Malami's counsel, Joseph Daudu, brought up the defendants' pending bail application during the resumed sitting.

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Justice Abdulmalik reminded Daudu that she had previously ruled that the bail application and other motions would be addressed after the prosecution's first witness had testified.

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Following this ruling, the EFCC called David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank in Abuja, as its first witness, who revealed that he has worked with the bank for three years, handling compliance requests from law enforcement agencies.

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Ajoma told the court that on December 2, 2025, Sterling Bank received a request from the EFCC seeking details of loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited, and subsequently forwarded the requested documents.

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According to Ajoma, the loan facility granted to Rayham Hotel Limited was backed by a cash collateral from Metropolitan Autotech, and he explained that both companies maintain separate accounts with Sterling Bank.

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Ajoma also stated that the signatory to the Metropolitan Autotech account is one Hassan Aliyu, and under cross-examination, he admitted that he was not the relationship manager for either Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech accounts.

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He confirmed that the name of the former AGF, Malami, did not appear on the loan application documents presented to the court, with the only name appearing on the loan application being Abdulaziz Malami, who signed as the Managing Director of Rayham Hotel Limited.

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Ajoma further told the court that none of the transactions reviewed by the bank originated from any government account, the Federal Ministry of Justice, or from Malami personally, and no transaction was found to be in breach of regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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The compliance officer also stated that from the documents available before the court, he could not identify any suspicious transaction linked to the accounts under review.

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After Ajoma concluded his testimony, counsel to the defendants moved for bail for Malami, his wife, and their son, with the EFCC informing the court that it was not opposed to the request but urged the judge to impose conditions that would guarantee the defendants’ availability for trial.

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Justice Abdulmalik granted bail to the three defendants in the sum of N200m each with two sureties in like sum, ordering that one of the sureties must deposit title documents of landed property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja.

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The court also directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registrar, and pending the perfection of the bail conditions, Justice Abdulmalik ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

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The judge subsequently adjourned the case till March 16 for the continuation of the trial.