…As EFCC files amended 16-count charge
Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, his wife, Hajiya Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar AbdulAziz Malami, have been remanded in correctional facilities following their re-arraignment over an alleged ₦8.7 billion money laundering scheme.
Justice Joyce AbdulMalik of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, yesterday ordered that the trio be returned to custody pending the hearing and determination of fresh bail applications.
Recall that Malami and his son were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while Asabe was ordered to be held at the Suleja Medium Correctional Centre.
The defendants were re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, concealment, and laundering of alleged proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to ₦8,713,923,759.49.
The matter, initially filed before
Justice Emeka Nwite in December 2025, was reassigned following administrative changes. At Friday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel Chief J.S. Okutepa (SAN) informed the court that it was the first appearance before Justice AbdulMalik and sought leave for the amended charges to be read.
The prosecution also requested corrections to figures in counts 11 and 12, adjusting the amounts from ₦325 billion to ₦325 million and from ₦120 billion to ₦120 million to align with the sums already written in words. Defence counsel J.B. Daudu (SAN) did not oppose the application, and the court granted the amendment.
The three defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all 16 counts.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences occurred between 2015 and 2025, during which the defendants were said to have conspired to disguise and conceal funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
In one of the counts, Malami and his son were accused of procuring Metropolitan Auto Tech Ltd to conceal over ₦1 billion in a Sterling Bank account between July 2022 and June 2025. Another count alleged that the trio conspired in September 2024 to disguise over ₦1.04 billion routed through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Ltd in Abuja.
The anti-graft agency further claimed that funds were moved through multiple corporate entities and commercial banks, with about ₦600 million allegedly retained as cash collateral for bank facilities. The charge sheet also alleged that part of the funds was used to acquire high-value properties in Abuja, Kano, and Kebbi States, either directly or through proxies to conceal ownership. The alleged offences contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The Defence counsel argued that the defendants had earlier been granted bail by the previous trial judge and had complied with all conditions, urging the court to allow the earlier bail terms to subsist.
However, the prosecution maintained that while the court could adopt the previous bail terms, it also had the discretion to impose fresh conditions.
In her ruling, Justice AbdulMalik held that the earlier bail was terminated following the reassignment of the case and directed the defendants to file fresh bail applications. An oral application for bail was rejected, with the court instructing the defence to file a formal application in view of the gravity of the allegations.
The court also directed the prosecution to grant defence counsel access to the defendants to facilitate preparation for trial.
The matter was adjourned to March 6, 2026, for hearing of bail applications and commencement of trial.
