Ex-Attorney General, Malami, Son, Wife granted N1 billion bail

The embattled former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has been granted bail to the whooping sum of N1 billion by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday.

Malami, his son, Abdulaziz and his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe are facing money laundering charges to the humongous of N212 billion in cash and property reasonably believe to be proceeds of corruption.

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The ex-Chief law officer of the Federation who hails from Kebbi State served in the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration from 2015 to 2023 and was believed to have looted recoveries of the ex-General Sani Abacha.

The bail granted by the Justice Emeka Nwite-led Federal High Court on Wednesday, secured a combined ₦1.5 billion in the high stakes money laundering prosecution brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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Thus far, the prosecution counsel to the EFCC, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, well contended the criminal implication of Malami and his family’s involvement in money laundering, thereby made the Judge of the Federal High Court to slam the defendants with stringent bail conditions.

Justice Nwite ordered that Malami be admitted to bail in the sum of ₦1 billion, while his wife, Hajia Asabe, was granted bail of ₦500 million.

Each defendant must present two sureties, each owning landed property in the Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarinpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory, in the respective sums.

Malami and the co-defendants have been sternly warned by the Court not to travel outside the country without due permission of the Court. They were further asked to submit property title documents for verification, their two recent passport photographs etc.

The Court ordered them back to Kuje prison pending when their bail conditions have been met, while the case was adjourned to 17th February, 2026 for trial.

CAPITAL POST recalled that Malami was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on a 16-count charge of money laundering.

He was arraigned alongside his son, Abdulaziz, and his wife, Asabe, who was said to be an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, a company alleged by the anti graft agency to have been used to conceal proceeds of unlawful activity through property transactions.

The EFCC alleges the trio laundered public funds totalling about ₦9 billion.

According to court documents, between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over N1.01 billion in a Sterling Bank account.

They are further accused of siphoning about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021 through the same company.

Additionally, the anti graft agency stated that the defendants retained N600 million in March 2021 as cash collateral for a ₦500 million loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Ltd from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.

The defendants were said to have breached several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

The EFCC indicated that among those expected to testify against the defendants are investigators from law enforcement agencies, bank officials, real estate agents and bureau de Change operators.

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