By Deborah Nnamdi
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, who is facing a money laundering charge alongside his son and wife.
Malami and the co-defendants were accused of laundering public funds amounting to about N9 billion.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the defendants bail in the sum of N200 million each with two sureties in like sum.
The court had earlier, on February 27, ordered the remand of the former AGF, his son Abdulaziz, and one of his wives, Hajia Bashir Asabe, in prison custody after they were re-arraigned on a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The remand followed the court’s refusal to adopt earlier bail conditions granted to the defendants on January 7 by Justice Emeka Nwite, who initially presided over the case as a vacation judge.
Defence counsel Joseph Daudu, SAN, had urged the court to allow the defendants to continue enjoying the earlier bail after they pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, counsel to the EFCC, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, argued that since the defendants had been re-arraigned, the court had the discretion to determine whether they should retain the previous bail.
Justice Abdulmalik held that the matter had started afresh before her and that the earlier proceedings before Justice Nwite had legally terminated, directing the defendants to file a fresh bail application, which was granted on Friday.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that one of the sureties must present title documents for a property located in either Maitama or Asokoro in the Federal Capital Territory. The defendants were also directed to surrender their international passports and were barred from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission.
The judge further ruled that the defendants should remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions.
The case was adjourned to March 16 for the commencement of the trial.
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 luxury properties in several locations, including Abuja, Kebbi, and Kano, in an attempt to conceal proceeds of crime.
The commission alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants used a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal more than N1.01 billion in a Sterling 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 told the court that the defendants retained N600 million in March 2021 as cash collateral for a N500 million loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Ltd from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The commission said the actions contravened several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.
Investigators, bank officials, real estate agents, and Bureau de Change operators are among those expected to testify in the case.
Malami is also facing a separate five-count charge bordering on terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms filed by the Department of State Services against him and his son.
The former AGF was previously arrested and detained by the DSS after meeting bail conditions in the EFCC case before he was later released from custody.
