A dramatic twist unfolded at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son have been sent back to correctional facilities. Moreover, the order was made pending the hearing of their fresh bail applications.
The decision followed their re-arraignment on an amended 16-count charge bordering on alleged financial crimes.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Maitama, ruled that the earlier bail granted by another judge no longer stands. Therefore, the defendants must file new bail applications before her court.
The Malami money laundering case involves allegations of conspiracy and laundering funds totaling N8,713,923,759.49. The charges were filed under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Malami and his son were ordered to be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre. Meanwhile, his wife was directed to be held at the Suleja Medium Correctional Centre.
The prosecution, led by Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, informed the court that minor corrections were made in Counts 11 and 12. These adjustments aligned numeric figures with amounts already written in words. The defence did not oppose the amendment.
One of the charges reads:
“That you Abubakar Malami, SAN, and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, between July 2022 and June 2025, in Abuja, procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of the sum of N1,014,848,500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) in a Sterling Bank Plc account, when they reasonably ought to have known that the sum constituted proceeds of unlawful activities, thereby committing 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”.
All three defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Defence counsel J.B. Daudu, SAN, argued that the previous bail should continue since the Federal High Court is one entity.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik stated, “I am of the view that the earlier bail has been terminated. In that wise, I order that fresh bail applications be filed before this court.”
An oral bail request was rejected. The judge directed that a formal application be submitted due to the seriousness of the allegations.
