Former Attorney General Malami, His Son and Spouse Granted N600m Bond in Alleged Financial Crimes Case

The Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, on Friday, in a money laundering case where he is accused alongside his son and wife of laundering about N9billion in public funds.

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The court, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, set the bail at N200 million each for the defendants, with two sureties in the same amount, following a ruling that allowed them to regain their freedom.

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Prior to the bail grant, the court had remanded the former AGF, his son Abdulaziz, and one of his wives, Hajia Bashir Asabe, in prison custody on February 27, after they were re-arraigned on a 16-count charge preferred by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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The remand order was issued after Justice Abdulmalik refused to adopt the earlier bail conditions granted to the defendants on January 7, prompting the defence lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu, to draw the court's attention to the previous bail terms.

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Counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Jibrin Okutepa, argued that the court had the discretion to determine whether the defendants should continue to enjoy their bail, given the re-arraignment, despite confirming that they had earlier met the bail conditions.

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Justice Abdulmalik held that the case had started anew before her, and therefore, the proceedings before the previous judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had legally terminated, leading to the order for the defendants to file a fresh bail application.

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As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents of a property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, in addition to surrendering their international passports.

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The defendants were also barred from traveling outside the country without permission, and Justice Abdulmalik ordered that they remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service until the bail conditions are fulfilled.

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Initially, the court had granted the defendants bail in the sum of N500m each with two sureties each in the like sum, before revising the amount to N200 million.

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The EFCC alleged that Malami, who served as Justice Minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, acquired choice properties in various cities and states to hide his proceeds of crime.

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The commission told the court that the defendants used a firm, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal over N1.01bn in a Sterling Bank account between July 2022 and June 2025, and siphoned about N600million between September 2020 and February 2021.

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The defendants were further accused of retaining N600m in March 2021 as cash collateral for a N500m loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Ltd from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

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A range of witnesses, including investigators, bank officials, real estate agents, and Bureau de Change operators, are expected to testify against the defendants in the case.

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Malami is also facing a separate five-count charge of terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) against him and his son.

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Following his arrest and detention by the DSS after perfecting the bail conditions in the EFCC case, Malami was released from prison custody.

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The EFCC opened its case against the defendants on Friday, producing its first witness, a Compliance Officer with Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. David Ojoma, to testify before the court.

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During his evidence-in-chief, the witness tendered a 214-page set of transaction documents showing inflows and outflows from accounts operated by the two companies, Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited, with the bank.

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The witness narrated a series of payments involving millions of naira made into the companies' bank accounts by corporate bodies and individuals, identifying Malami's son, Abdulaziz, as the sole signatory to the Rayhan Hotels account.

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Justice Abdulmalik scheduled the continuation of the hearing for March 16.