A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and his son, Abdulaziz, on Wednesday, secured N1billion bail from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by trial Justice Emeka Nwite, equally granted Malami’s wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, who is also a defendant in the case, bail to the tune of N500 million.
It held that all the defendants must provide two sureties each in the like sum, who must be owners of landed properties in either Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the court, aside from submission of title documents of the properties for verification, the defendants must surrender their travel 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.
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.
He was arraigned before the court alongside his son, Abdulaziz, and his wife Asabe, who was identified as an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited—a firm allegedly used to conceal proceeds of unlawful activity through property deals
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 N600million 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.
Among those billed to testify against them were investigators, bank officials, real estate agents and Bureau de Change operators.
Vanguard