Court orders fresh remand for Malami, wife, son over alleged N8.7bn fraud

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Friday remanded former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, pending the hearing of fresh bail applications.

Malami and his son were ordered to be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while Asabe was remanded at the Suleja Medium Correctional Centre.

The trio were re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the alleged laundering of N8,713,923,759.49, said to be proceeds of unlawful activities, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik after it was transferred from Justice Emeka Nwite of the same court.

At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, informed the court that the matter was coming up before Justice Abdulmalik for the first time and sought leave to read the amended charge to the defendants. He noted that corrections were made in Counts 11 and 12 to ensure that the numerical figures corresponded with the amounts already written in words.

Defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, raised no objection to the amendments but asked that the prosecution formally apply for them. The court subsequently granted the request.

According to the charges, Malami and his son allegedly procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited between July 2022 and June 2025 to conceal the alleged unlawful origin of N1,014,848,500 in a Sterling Bank Plc account.

Another count alleged that the three defendants conspired in September 2024 to disguise the origin of N1,049,173,926.13 paid through the Union Bank Plc account of Meethaq Hotels Limited, Jabi, between November 2022 and September 2024.

The prosecution further alleged that Malami and his son indirectly took control of N1,362,887,872.96 paid into the Union Bank Plc savings account of Meethaq Hotels Limited between November 2022 and October 2025, funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Following their plea, the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendants in custody. The defence, however, argued that the defendants had earlier been granted bail by Justice Nwite and had complied fully with the conditions, urging the court to allow the existing bail to continue.

While acknowledging that the defendants were previously admitted to bail, the prosecution maintained that the court retained discretion to either uphold the earlier terms or require fresh bail conditions.

In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that the earlier bail no longer subsisted following the reassignment of the case and directed the defendants to file fresh bail applications.

She declined an oral bail request by the defence, citing the seriousness of the allegations, and ordered that a formal application be brought before the court. The judge 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 proceedings.

Previously, Justice Abdulmalik had granted Malami and his son bail of N200 million each in a separate matter involving alleged terrorism financing and unlawful possession of firearms, stressing that bail is primarily to ensure the defendants’ appearance in court.