ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who is standing trial alongside his son and wife over alleged money laundering involving about N9 billion.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the court admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N200 million each, with two sureties in like sum, bringing the total bail value to N600 million.
The defendants in the case are Malami, his son Abdulaziz Malami*, and one of his wives, Bashir Asabe.
They are facing a 16-count charge filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bordering on alleged laundering of public funds.
The court had earlier, on February 27, ordered that the former AGF and the other defendants be remanded in prison custody after they were re-arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik.
The remand order followed the judge’s decision not to adopt the earlier bail conditions that had been granted to them on January 7 by another judge.
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During the proceedings, defence counsel Joseph Daudu (SAN) informed the court that the defendants had already fulfilled the bail conditions earlier imposed by Justice Emeka Nwite, who initially handled the case as a vacation judge.
However, counsel to the EFCC, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), confirmed that while the earlier bail conditions had been perfected, the fresh arraignment meant the court retained the discretionary power to determine whether the defendants should continue to enjoy bail.
After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the matter had started afresh (de novo) before her, noting that the proceedings conducted earlier before Justice Nwite had legally terminated.
She therefore directed the defendants to file a fresh bail application, which the court granted on Friday.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents of a property located either in Maitama or Asokoro areas of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The court also directed the defendants to surrender their international passports and prohibited them from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission.
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Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that the defendants should remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service until they meet the bail conditions.
The case was subsequently adjourned to March 16 for the commencement of trial.
Earlier, the court had granted the defendants bail in the sum of N500 million each, with two sureties in like sum.
According to the EFCC, Malami, who served as Justice Minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, allegedly acquired several luxury properties across Abuja, Kebbi and Kano states in a bid to conceal proceeds of crime.
The anti-graft agency alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants used a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal over N1.01 billion in an account with Sterling Bank.
They were also accused of using the same firm to siphon about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.
Similarly, the EFCC alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained N600 million as cash collateral for a N500 million loan obtained from Rayhaan Hotels Ltd from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing the funds were proceeds of crime.
The anti-graft agency said the alleged actions violated several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.
Investigators, bank officials, real estate agents and Bureau de Change operators are among witnesses expected to testify during the trial.
Aside from the EFCC case, Malami is also facing a five-count charge of terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms filed against him and his son by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The former AGF was earlier arrested and detained by the DSS after perfecting bail conditions in the EFCC case before he was eventually released from custody.