…Malami allegedly acquired high-value properties in Abuja, Kebbi and Kano in a bid to conceal illicit proceeds.
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Abubakar Malami, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, was on Tuesday arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering.
Also docked by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and Hajia Bashir Asabe, an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, a company alleged to have been used to hide proceeds of illicit activities through property transactions.
The anti-graft agency accused the defendants of laundering public funds estimated at about N9 billion.
According to the EFCC, Malami allegedly acquired high-value properties in Abuja, Kebbi and Kano in a bid to conceal illicit proceeds.
The commission told the court that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over N1.01 billion in a bank account. They were also accused of using the same firm to divert about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.
The EFCC further alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained N600 million as cash collateral for a N500 million bank loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Limited, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The alleged offences were said to contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011. The prosecution listed investigators, bank officials, real estate agents and Bureau de Change operators among its proposed witnesses.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read in open court.
Trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, declined an oral bail application made by defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, following opposition by the EFCC, which also asked for an accelerated hearing of the case.
The prosecution requested time to file a counter-affidavit to formally oppose the bail applications already filed by the defence.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that while the court has the discretion to grant bail, the interest of justice required that the EFCC be allowed to respond to the written applications. He consequently adjourned the matter to January 2, 2026, and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Malami was brought to court from EFCC custody, where he had been held since December 8. The former Attorney-General alleged that the commission arbitrarily revoked an earlier administrative bail after he attended a political rally in Kebbi State, claiming the action suggested that the prosecution was politically motivated.
