The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over alleged money laundering offences amounting to N8.7 billion.
The trio were brought before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, December 30, 2025. They are facing a 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, concealment, disguise and laundering of proceeds of unlawful activities, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
At the arraignment, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for the defendants to take their pleas on the charge filed on December 23, 2025. Defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, raised no objection, prompting the court to order the charge to be read.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences involved complex financial transactions running into billions of naira through several corporate accounts. One of the charges accused Malami and his son of using a company to conceal over N1 billion suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, while another alleged that the defendants conspired to disguise more than N1.04 billion paid through accounts linked to a hotel business in Abuja.
After the defendants pleaded to the charges, the prosecution announced its readiness for trial and requested a date. Iheanacho also disclosed that the EFCC had just been served with a bail application by the defence and sought time to respond.
Defence counsel, however, urged the court to grant bail orally, arguing that the offences were bailable under the law. The prosecution opposed the request, insisting that bail applications in such cases must be supported by affidavit evidence, given the seriousness and public interest implications of the charges.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution must be given adequate opportunity to respond to the bail application. He ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the case to January 2, 2026, for hearing of the bail application.
The case adds to a growing list of high-profile corruption and financial crime prosecutions involving former public office holders in Nigeria.
