The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his son Abdulaziz, and one of his wives, Hajia Bashir Asabe, who are facing allegations of laundering about N9 billion in public funds.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N200 million, with two sureties in like sum.
The court also directed that one of the sureties must present title documents of a property located in either Maitama or Asokoro in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In addition, the defendants were ordered to surrender their international passports and were barred from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission.
Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that the defendants should remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
The case was subsequently adjourned to March 16 for the commencement of trial.
Malami, who served as Nigeria’s Justice Minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was earlier remanded in prison custody on February 27 following his re-arraignment alongside the co-defendants on a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The remand order came after Justice Abdulmalik declined to adopt the earlier bail conditions granted on January 7 by Justice Emeka Nwite, who initially handled the matter as a vacation judge.
Following the re-arraignment, Malami’s counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), urged the court to retain the earlier bail terms, noting that the defendants had already complied with them.
However, counsel to the EFCC, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), argued that the court retained the discretion to review or alter the bail conditions since the defendants had been re-arraigned and the case had effectively started afresh.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that the matter had commenced de novo, meaning that the earlier proceedings before Justice Nwite had legally terminated, thereby requiring the defendants to file fresh bail applications, which the court eventually granted.
According to the EFCC, Malami allegedly laundered illicit funds by acquiring high-value properties in Abuja, Kebbi, and Kano in a bid to conceal the proceeds of crime.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants used a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal over N1.01 billion in a Sterling Bank account.
They were further accused of siphoning about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021 through the same company.
The EFCC also alleged that the defendants retained N600 million in March 2021 as cash collateral for a N500 million loan obtained by another company, Rayhaan Hotels Ltd, from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The commission said the alleged actions contravene several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Investigators, bank officials, real estate agents, and Bureau de Change operators are among witnesses expected to testify during the trial.
Meanwhile, Malami and his son are also facing a separate five-count charge bordering on terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms, filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The former AGF was earlier arrested and detained by the DSS shortly after perfecting bail conditions in the EFCC case, before being released from custody.
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