The federal high court in Abuja, on Friday, February 27, ordered the remand of former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, his wife, Asabe Bashir, and their son, Abdulaziz Malami, in correctional facilities for laundering ₦8.7 billion.
Malami and Abdulaziz were remanded at the Kuje correctional centre, while Asabe was ordered to be held at the Suleja medium correctional centre.
The defendants were re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, concealment, and laundering of proceeds of unlawful activities.
One of the charges alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, Malami and Abdulaziz used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over ₦1 billion in a Sterling Bank account.
Another count accused the defendants of conspiring to disguise more than ₦1 billion channelled through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Limited.
The prosecution counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants.
The defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, argued that they had previously been granted bail by Justice Emeka Nwite and had complied with the conditions, urging the court to allow the existing bail to continue.
However, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the earlier bail lapsed upon reassignment of the case and directed the defendants to file fresh bail applications.
An oral bail application was rejected, with the court insisting on a formal written motion given the gravity of the charges.
The judge ordered the prosecution to grant defence counsel access to the defendants to enable trial preparation and adjourned the matter to March 6th, for the hearing of bail applications and commencement of trial.
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