By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — The ongoing prosecution of the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, got a twist on Wednesday, as the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, alleged attempts to compromise him.
Shortly after granting N1.5 billion bail to the erstwhile AGF and his co-defendants, Justice Nwite disclosed that he had been approached by some persons who wanted a favourable decision.
Malami, who served as Justice Minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, faces a 16-count money laundering charge alongside his son, Abdulaziz, and wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe.
The defendants were alleged to have laundered public funds totalling about N9 billion.
According to the anti-graft agency, the former Justice Minister, in a bid to hide his proceeds of crime, resorted to acquiring choice properties in various cities and states, including Abuja, Kebbi and Kano.
EFCC told the court that the defendants had, between July 2022 and June 2025, used a firm – Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited – to conceal over N1.01bn in a Sterling Bank account.
They were further accused of using the same company to siphon about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.
Likewise, EFCC told the court that the defendants had retained N600m in March 2021 as cash collateral for a N500m loan that the firm — Rayhaan Hotels Ltd — obtained from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The defendants were said to have acted in breach of several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Granting them bail on Wednesday, Justice Nwite warned that no one should approach him again with a view to getting him to compromise the standard.
He said: “Before I conclude this proceeding, I want to admonish both parties and litigants that they should know the type of court they are appearing before.
“All judges are not the same. Irrespective of the fact that I am familiarising with you, when I am doing any case, please, don’t approach me.
“The best you can do for your client is to get the best lawyer. The law cannot be bent as far as this court is concerned.
“So, I want to warn each and every one of you, litigants and lawyers appearing before this court, that they should understand the way this court works.
“Please, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Any attempt to try my leniency will be resisted and dealt with. I warn, I warn and I warn,” Justice Nwite added.
Meanwhile, as part of the bail conditions, the court held that all the defendants must provide two sureties each in the bail sum, who must be owners of landed properties in either Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Aside from submission of title documents of the properties for verification, the court held that the defendants must surrender their international passports.
More so, it held that the sureties must submit two of their recent passport photographs and equally depose to an affidavit of means.
The court warned that the defendants must not travel outside the country without permission.
It held that they should remain in prison custody, pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
The case was subsequently adjourned till February 17 for trial.
Among those billed to testify against the defendants were investigators, bank officials, real estate agents and Bureau de Change operators.
Malami was detained by the EFCC on December 8, 2025, after honouring an invitation extended to him by the agency.
He later accused the agency of arbitrarily revoking an administrative bail it earlier granted to him.
The embattled former AGF insisted that the revocation came after he attended a political rally in his home state, Kebbi, a development he described as a pointer to the fact that his trial was politically motivated.
Meanwhile, some of the counts in the charge against the defendants, read: “That you Abubakar Malami SAN, and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami between July 2022 and June, 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did procure Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of the total sum of N1, 014, 848, 500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) in the Sterling Bank Plc Account No. 0079182387 when you reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed proceeds of unlawful activities and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(c) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
“That you Abubakar Malami SAN whilst being the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami between September 2020 and February, 2021in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did procure Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of the total sum of N600,013,460.4 in the Sterling Bank Plc Account No. 0079182387 when you reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed proceeds of unlawful activitiesand you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act
“That you Abubakar Malami SAN whilst being the Attorney-General of the Federation and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami sometime in March, 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did retain the total sum of N600,000,000.00 in Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited as cash collateral for a loan of N500,000,000.00 granted to RAYHAAN HOTELS LTD by Sterling Bank Plc when you reasonably ought to have known that the said cash collateral of N600,000,000.00 was proceed of unlawful activities and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amendedpunishable under section 15(3) of the same Act
“That you Abubakar Malami SAN whilst being the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and Hajia Bashir Asabe an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited sometime in November, 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did indirectly disguise the unlawful origin of the aggregate sum of N500,000,000.00 paid to Efab Properties Ltd paid for purchase of property known as luxury duplex at Amazon street, Plot No. 3011 within Cadastral Zone A06 Maitama District, Abuja in favour of Abubakar Malami SAN when you reasonably ought to have known that the said N500million formed proceed of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(2) (a) and punishable under section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“That you Abubakar Malami SAN whilst being the Attorney-General of the Federation, between October 2018 and December, 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court indirectly concealed the aggregate sum N415,000,000.00 which you paid for the purchase of the properties namely (i) No. 28 Bagudu Kaltio crescent Gwarimpa, Abuja (ii) Plot 13, Ipent 7 Estate Abuja and (iii) A Plaza, Commercial Toilets, Laundry and Warehouse Tanks Adjacent to Brinin Kebbi Market (iv) 100 hectares of land Along Brinin Kebbi, Jeba Road (v) Plot 157 Lamido Crescent, Nassarawa Road GRA, Kano knowing that the said sum of N415,000,000.00 formed proceeds of unlawful activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (a) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended.”
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