 is set to bring former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice){kind=link}
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to bring former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Federal High Court in Abuja today over allegations of large-scale financial crimes.
According to credible sources within the anti-graft agency, all procedural and logistical arrangements have been finalised for Malami’s appearance before Justice Emeka Nwite, where he is expected to enter a plea alongside other defendants in the matter.
Moreover, the EFCC was said to be on full standby as of late Monday night, with only unforeseen circumstances capable of altering the scheduled arraignment.
The prosecution team will reportedly be led by Chief J. S. Okutepa, SAN, a development that signals the commission’s intention to vigorously pursue the case.
Court documents show that the EFCC has filed a 16-count charge against Malami, his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and a business associate, Hajia Bashir Asabe.
The defendants are accused of laundering funds and acquiring properties allegedly valued at more than N8.7 billion.
The charge, registered as FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, alleges a long-running scheme involving the concealment and retention of proceeds believed to have been derived from unlawful activities through bank accounts, corporate vehicles, and luxury real estate investments.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences span ten years between 2015 and 2025, mostly within Abuja, and coincided with Malami’s time as Nigeria’s chief law officer.
Investigators alleged that Malami and his son used a firm, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to warehouse over N1 billion in a Sterling Bank account between 2022 and 2025.
Additionally, the EFCC claimed another N600 million was deposited through the same bank between 2020 and 2021.
Furthermore, the commission accused the defendants of using N600 million, allegedly suspected funds, as cash collateral to secure a N500 million loan from Sterling Bank Plc for Rayhaan Hotels Limited.
In another strand of the case, prosecutors alleged that more than N1.36 billion flowed through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Limited between late 2022 and 2025, funds which the EFCC described as indirectly controlled by the defendants.
A significant portion of the charge focuses on high-value property acquisitions in Abuja, which the EFCC said were designed to mask the origin and ownership of the funds.
Among the properties listed are a luxury duplex in Maitama allegedly purchased for N500 million, a Garki residence valued at N700 million, and a Jabi property said to have cost N850 million.
Other alleged acquisitions include properties in Maitama’s Rhine Street, multiple locations in Asokoro District, and a home in Efab Estate, Gwarimpa, with values running into hundreds of millions of naira.
Additionally, the EFCC alleged that nearly N1 billion in suspected illicit funds was used to acquire properties across Abuja, Kano, and Birnin Kebbi between 2018 and 2023, often through intermediaries and corporate fronts.
Hajia Bashir Asabe was identified by investigators as a facilitator in the transactions.
The EFCC claimed she helped coordinate property purchases and conceal beneficial ownership while working with Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
“The pattern we uncovered points to deliberate efforts to disguise proceeds of crime through complex financial and property arrangements,” an EFCC source familiar with the case said.
The commission stated that the alleged offences violate provisions of Nigeria’s money laundering laws, including the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and its 2022 successor legislation.
Meanwhile, the EFCC listed investigators, bank officials, bureau de change operators, and representatives of corporate entities as witnesses expected to testify as the trial unfolds.