A federal high court in Abuja has granted bail to Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF); his wife, Asabe Bashir; and their son, Abdulaziz Malami.
Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, on Friday, granted bail to each of the defendants in the sum of N200 million, with two sureties in like sum.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that one of the sureties must deposit title deeds of property located in Maitama or Asokoro area of Abuja.
The court also directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court.
The defendants are to remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
Background
The former AGF, his wife and son were re-arraigned on Friday before Joyce Abdulmalik, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, following the reassignment of the case.
In the 16-count charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that the defendants conspired to launder proceeds of unlawful activity between 2015 and 2025, using bank accounts and corporate entities to conceal the source and ownership of the fund worth over N8.1 billion.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants routed huge sums of money through companies linked to the Malami family, including Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited and Meethaq Hotels Limited, with transactions carried out through several commercial banks.
The funds were allegedly structured in a manner designed to disguise their illicit origin and avoid regulatory scrutiny.
According to the charge sheet, some of the funds were retained as cash collateral for bank facilities, including about N600 million, which the commission said the defendants knew or ought reasonably to have known were proceeds of unlawful activity.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that the defendants used the funds to acquire high-value property in Abuja, Kano, and Kebbi states.
They include residential and commercial property allegedly purchased directly or through proxies as part of efforts to conceal beneficial ownership.
The EFCC also accused the defendants of conspiring among themselves to indirectly acquire assets, retain control of illicit funds, and disguise the true source of the money through a series of financial transactions and corporate vehicles.
EFCC presents first witness
The witness, David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, told the court that his responsibilities include handling compliance requests from law enforcement agencies.
Ajoma said the bank received a request from the EFCC on December 2, 2025, seeking information on loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited.
He told the court that the bank subsequently provided documents in response to the request, including the company’s account opening package, loan account statements, and other supporting records.
The witness said the loan facility granted to Rayham Hotel Limited was backed by cash collateral provided by Metropolitan Autotech.
Ajoma added that both Metropolitan Autotech and Rayham Hotel Limited operate separate accounts with Sterling Bank.
According to him, the signatory to the Metropolitan Autotech account is Hassan Aliyu.
Under cross-examination, the witness said he was not the relationship manager for the accounts of Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech.
As a result, he said he was not privy to the details or purposes of inflows into the accounts.
Ajoma also told the court that the name ‘Abubakar Malami’ did not appear on the loan application documents submitted to the bank.
He said the only name on the application was Abdulaziz Malami, who signed as managing director of Rayham Hotel Limited.
The witness further confirmed that none of the transactions before the court originated from any government account, the ministry of justice, or from Abubakar Malami personally.
Ajoma added that from the documents presented in court, he could not identify any suspicious transaction. He also told the court that none of the transactions reviewed breached regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
