A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, his son Abdulaziz, and his wife Hajia Bashir Asabe over alleged involvement in a multi-billion-naira money laundering case.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the three defendants bail in the sum of N200 million each with two sureties in like sum, bringing the total bail value to N600 million.
The trio are currently facing a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which accused them of laundering about N9 billion in public funds.
Fresh Bail Application
The court had earlier remanded Malami and the other defendants in prison custody on February 27 after they were re-arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik.
Although they had previously been granted bail by Justice Emeka Nwite, who handled the matter as a vacation judge, the court ruled that the case had started de novo (afresh), meaning the earlier proceedings and bail conditions had effectively ended.
Following arguments from defence counsel Joseph Daudu and EFCC lawyer Jibrin Okutepa, the judge directed the defendants to file a fresh bail application, which was granted on Friday.
Bail Conditions
As part of the conditions, the court ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents to a property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of the Federal Capital Territory.
The defendants were also directed to surrender their international passports and are prohibited from travelling outside Nigeria without the court’s permission.
Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that they should remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service until the bail conditions are fully met.
Allegations by EFCC
According to the EFCC, Malami—who served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari—allegedly used various companies to conceal proceeds of crime.
Investigators claim that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants used a firm, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to hide more than N1.01 billion in an account with Sterling Bank.
They were also accused of diverting about N600 million through the same company between September 2020 and February 2021.
The anti-graft agency further alleged that the defendants retained N600 million as cash collateral in March 2021 to secure a N500 million loan for Rayhaan Hotels Ltd, despite allegedly knowing the funds were proceeds of crime.
Trial Date Set
The court adjourned the case to March 16 for the commencement of trial, where investigators, bank officials, real estate agents and Bureau de Change operators are expected to testify.
Separately, Malami and his son are also facing a five-count charge of terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
