Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, has ordered the remand of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, his wife Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami in correctional facilities over an alleged money laundering case involving N8.7 billion.
The order was issued on Friday, February 27, 2026, pending the determination of their bail applications.
Malami and his son were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while his wife 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 amounting to N8,713,923,759.49, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik after previously being handled by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Chief J. S. Okutepa (SAN), sought leave of the court to amend parts of the charge, particularly numeric values in Counts 11 and 12, to align with the amounts written in words.
Counsel to the defendants, J. B. Daudu (SAN), did not oppose the amendment but urged the prosecution to formally apply for it, after which the court granted the request.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly conspired between July 2022 and June 2025 to conceal over N1 billion through bank accounts linked to Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, funds the prosecution said were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Another count alleged that the defendants disguised more than N1.04 billion paid through accounts linked to Meethaq Hotels Limited between November 2022 and September 2024.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defence counsel argued that the defendants had earlier been granted bail by Justice Nwite and had complied with all conditions, urging the court to allow the existing bail to continue.
However, the prosecution maintained that the court had the discretion to impose fresh bail terms following the reassignment of the case.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that the previous bail no longer stood and directed that fresh bail applications be filed before the court, rejecting an oral bail request made by the defence.
The court also ordered that the prosecution grant defence lawyers access to the defendants to enable preparation for trial.
The matter was adjourned to March 6, 2026, for hearing of bail applications and commencement of trial.
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