The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, along with his wife and son in an ongoing ₦9 billion money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Malami and the two family members are currently standing trial on a 16-count charge related to alleged money laundering.
At the resumed hearing, the presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, directed the prosecution to present its first witness after Malami’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, sought to draw the court’s attention to the defendants’ pending bail application.
However, the judge reminded the defence that she had earlier ruled that all bail requests and related motions would only be considered after the prosecution’s first witness had delivered his evidence-in-chief.
Following the court’s directive, the EFCC presented its first witness, David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank in Abuja.
Ajoma told the court that he has worked with the bank for three years and is responsible for handling compliance requests from law enforcement agencies. He explained that on December 2, 2025, the bank received a request from the EFCC seeking details of loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited.
According to him, Sterling Bank subsequently forwarded the requested documents to the anti-graft agency, including account opening records, loan account statements and other relevant documents.
The witness also testified that the loan facility granted to Rayham Hotel Limited was secured with a cash collateral provided by Metropolitan Autotech. He noted that both companies maintain separate accounts with the bank and that the Metropolitan Autotech account is operated by one Hassan Aliyu.
During cross-examination, Ajoma admitted that he was not the relationship manager for either Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech and therefore had no direct knowledge of the specific details or purposes of the transactions recorded in the accounts.
He also confirmed that Malami’s name did not appear on the loan application documents presented before the court.
Ajoma further stated that the only individual listed on the loan application was Abdulaziz Malami, who signed as the Managing Director of Rayham Hotel Limited.
The witness added that none of the transactions examined by the bank originated from any government account, the Federal Ministry of Justice, or directly from the former Attorney-General.
He also told the court that, based on the documents available, he did not identify any suspicious transactions linked to the accounts and that none of the transactions violated regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
After the witness concluded his testimony, the defence team applied for bail on behalf of Malami, his wife and their son.
Counsel for the EFCC informed the court that the commission did not oppose the application but requested strict bail conditions to ensure the defendants’ presence throughout the trial.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik granted each of the three defendants bail in the sum of ₦200 million with two sureties in like sum.
The court ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents for a landed property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja. The defendants were also directed to surrender their international passports to the court registrar.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the court ordered that the defendants remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The case was subsequently adjourned to March 16 for the continuation of the trial.
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