Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Friday ordered the remand of 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, in correctional facilities pending the determination of their bail applications.
Malami and his son, listed as the first and third defendants, were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while his wife, the second defendant, was ordered to be held at the Suleja Medium Correctional Centre.
The trio was re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Abdulmalik following the reassignment of the case from Justice Emeka Nwite.
They are facing an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, concealment, procurement, disguising, and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to ₦8,713,923,759.49, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Charges Read, Amendments Granted
At the resumed proceedings, prosecution counsel, Chief J.S. Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the matter was appearing before Justice Abdulmalik for the first time and sought leave to read the amended charges to the defendants.
He also drew the court’s attention to corrections made in counts 11 and 12 to align the numeric values with the amounts already stated in words.
Defence counsel, J.B. Daudu (SAN), did not oppose the amendment but urged the prosecution to formally apply for it. The court subsequently granted the request and approved the corrections.
Details of Alleged Transactions
According to the EFCC, Malami and his son allegedly procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited between July 2022 and June 2025 to conceal ₦1.01 billion in a Sterling Bank account, funds investigators believe were proceeds of unlawful activities.
In another count, the prosecution alleged that Malami, his wife, and son conspired to disguise ₦1.04 billion paid through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Limited between November 2022 and September 2024.
The commission further alleged that Malami and his son took indirect control of ₦1.36 billion linked to the same hotel through banking channels, despite allegedly knowing the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court ordered that the defendants remain in custody pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications and adjourned the matter to a later date.
