Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency has opened the trial of the country’s former attorney general, Abubakar Malami, over allegations of laundering ₦9bn, in a case that has drawn attention to financial dealings linked to his family.
Malami appeared on Friday before the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Abuja alongside his wife, Asabe Bashir, and their son Abdulaziz, where they face a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
At the hearing, the presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, directed the prosecution to call its first witness after defence counsel Joseph Daudu attempted to draw attention to a pending bail application.
Abdulmalik reminded the defence that she had earlier ruled that bail applications and other preliminary motions would be considered only after the prosecution’s first witness had presented evidence.
The EFCC subsequently called David Ajoma, a compliance officer at Sterling Bank in Abuja, who testified that the bank had received a request from the anti-corruption agency on 2 December 2025 seeking details of loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited.
Ajoma told the court that the bank provided the requested documents, including account opening forms, loan account statements and related records.
According to the witness, the loan facility granted to Rayham Hotel Limited was secured with cash collateral provided by Metropolitan Autotech, another company that maintained a separate account with the bank.
He said the signatory to the Metropolitan Autotech account was identified as Hassan Aliyu.
Under cross-examination, Ajoma acknowledged that he was not the relationship manager for either Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech and therefore did not have detailed knowledge of the transactions flowing through the accounts.
He also confirmed that Malami’s name did not appear on the loan application documents submitted to the court.
“The only name appearing on the loan application was Abdulaziz Malami, who signed as the managing director of Rayham Hotel Limited,” the witness said.
Ajoma further told the court that none of the transactions examined originated from any government account, the federal ministry of justice, or from Malami personally.
He added that, based on the documents reviewed, he could not identify any suspicious transactions linked to the accounts, nor any breach of regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Following the testimony, defence counsel applied for bail for Malami, his wife and their son.
The EFCC said it did not oppose the application but urged the court to impose conditions ensuring the defendants’ availability for trial.
In her ruling, Abdulmalik granted bail to each of the three defendants in the sum of ₦200m with two sureties in like amount.
The court ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents for property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja, and directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registrar.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the judge ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The case was adjourned until 16 March for continuation of the trial.
