By Francis Wilfred
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arraigned a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife and son before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering involving N8.7 billion.Malami was docked with his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja. The defendants are facing a 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing, and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The total sum involved in the charges was put at N8,713,923,759.49.The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Dele Oyewale, disclosed the details in a statement issued in Abuja. He said the defendants were accused of engaging in complex financial transactions designed to conceal the origin of funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities.
At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment. He told the court that the charge, dated December 23, 2025, had been properly filed and urged the judge to direct that it be read to the defendants for their pleas to be taken.Counsel to the defendants, J.B. Daudu, SAN, raised no objection, following which Justice Nwite ordered the charges to be read in open court. The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
One of the charges alleged that Malami and his son, between July 2022 and June 2025 in Abuja, procured a company to conceal the unlawful origin of over N1.01 billion lodged in a Sterling Bank account. Another count accused the defendants of conspiring to disguise more than N1.04 billion paid through the Union Bank account of a hospitality company in Abuja.A further charge alleged that Malami and his son indirectly took control of over N1.36 billion paid through a bank account between November 2022 and October 2025, knowing or reasonably suspecting that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Following the arraignment, Iheanacho informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed to trial and requested a trial date. He also disclosed that the defence had served the prosecution with a written bail application a day earlier and sought time to respond.In response, defence counsel made an oral application for bail, arguing that the offences were bailable under Nigerian law. He cited judicial authorities to support his position and urged the court to exercise its discretion in favour of the defendants.
The prosecution opposed the oral application, insisting that bail applications in such cases must be supported by affidavit evidence. Iheanacho also urged the court to consider public interest, noting that the charges involved serious economic crimes and complex financial transactions.In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution was entitled to adequate time to respond to the bail application. He ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the case to January 2, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application.
