A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has granted N500 million bail each to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) alongside his son, Abdulaziz, and one of his wives, Bashir Asabe, who are standing trial over alleged money laundering offences.
The presiding judge, Emeka Nwite, in his ruling on Wednesday, January 7, ordered that the defendants must produce two sureties with verifiable landed property located within Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarimpa districts of Abuja.
The judge also directed that the title documents of the properties be submitted to the court and verified by the Deputy Chief Registrar, while the sureties are to depose to affidavits of means.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered Malami and the other defendants to deposit their international passports and other travel documents with the court. Each of the defendants was granted N500 million by the court.
They are also barred from travelling outside Nigeria without prior permission of the court.
Malami, his son, and Asabe had been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre following their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 29, 2025, after pleading not guilty to a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering amounting to N8.7 billion.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired to conceal and disguise proceeds of unlawful activities through the use of multiple corporate entities, bank accounts, and high-value real estate transactions across Abuja and other parts of the country.
According to court documents marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, the commission accused Malami and his son of using a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal over N1.01 billion between July 2022 and June 2025, while an additional N600 million allegedly passed through a Sterling Bank account linked to the same company between September 2020 and February 2021.
In another count, the EFCC alleged that Malami, his son, and Asabe, said to be an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, disguised the origin of N500 million used to purchase a luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Maitama, Abuja.
The prosecution further alleged that the defendants laundered N1.04 billion through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Limited between November 2022 and September 2024, while another N1.36 billion was allegedly controlled indirectly through the same account.
The EFCC also accused Malami of concealing N700 million allegedly used to acquire a property in Area 11, Garki, and N850 million for another property in the Jabi District of Abuja while he was serving as Attorney-General of the Federation.
Other properties listed in the charge include real estate on Amazon Street and Rhine Street in Maitama, houses in Asokoro and Gwarimpa, as well as properties in Abuja, Kano, and Birnin Kebbi.
The anti-graft agency told the court that it had traced 41 properties valued at about N212 billion to Malami and his associates, alleging that proxies and corporate fronts were used to obscure ownership.
The alleged offences, the EFCC said, contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M