KEY POINTS

• The court rejected an oral bail application and ordered Malami remanded till January 2, 2026
• EFCC alleges laundering of about ₦9bn through bank accounts, loans and property purchases
• The charges involve acts allegedly committed while Malami served as Attorney General

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in prison custody over alleged money laundering involving about ₦9 billion.

The court ordered authorities to keep Malami at the Kuje Correctional Centre until January 2, 2026, when it will hear his formal bail application. Malami is standing trial alongside his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and an alleged accomplice, Hajia Bashir Asabe, on a 16-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The defendants were arraigned before Trial Justice Emeka Nwike, who declined an oral bail request made on their behalf by a legal team led by J. B. Daudu, SAN.

In refusing the application, Justice Nwike held that the court must give the anti graft agency adequate time to respond. He stressed that the EFCC opposed the bail request and had the right to file a counter affidavit before the court decides whether to release the defendants pending trial.

EFCC outlines alleged laundering scheme

The charge accuses the defendants of laundering public funds in violation of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act. The EFCC alleged that Malami, while serving as Attorney General, used illicit funds to acquire high value properties in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and other cities across the country.

The prosecution told the court that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants allegedly used a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal more than ₦1.01 billion in a Sterling Bank account. Prosecutors further accused them of using the same firm to siphon about ₦600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.

The EFCC also alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained ₦600 million as cash collateral for a ₦500 million loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Limited from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.

In one of the counts read in court, the prosecution alleged that Malami, his son and Hajia Bashir Asabe indirectly disguised the unlawful origin of ₦500 million paid to Efab Properties Limited for the purchase of a luxury duplex in Maitama, Abuja. The EFCC said the funds used for the transaction were proceeds of crime.

Legal process and next steps

The alleged offences are said to contravene provisions of both the 2011 and 2022 Money Laundering Acts and carry penalties under the law. The EFCC maintained that the gravity of the allegations and the sums involved justified continued detention pending the hearing of a substantive bail application.

The case has attracted public attention given Malami’s former role as Nigeria’s chief law officer and minister of justice. His remand marks a significant development in ongoing anti corruption efforts targeting former public officials.

Justice Nwike adjourned the matter to January 2, 2026, for the hearing of the defendants’ bail application, while ordering that they remain in custody. The trial will continue thereafter, with the EFCC ready to call witnesses and present documentary evidence to support the charges.