On Friday, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, his wife and their son in an ongoing N9 billion money laundering case brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
New Telegraph recalls that Malami is standing trial alongside his two family members on a 16-count charge relating to alleged financial crimes.
The trial judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, asked during the preceesing that the anti-graft agency to present its first witness after Malami’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, drew the court’s attention to a pending bail application for the defendants.
However, the judge reminded the counse that she had previously ruled that the application for bail and other motions would be addressed only after the prosecution’s first witness had completed his evidence-in-chief.
The EFCC subsequently presented its first witness, David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank in Abuja.
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Ajoma told the court that he had 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 asking for details relating to loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited.
According to the witness, Sterling Bank responded by providing the required documentation, including account opening records, loan statements and other supporting materials.
Ajoma further stated that the loan facility obtained by Rayham Hotel Limited was secured with a cash collateral provided by Metropolitan Autotech.
He told the court that both companies maintain separate accounts with Sterling Bank and noted that the signatory to the Metropolitan Autotech account is one Hassan Aliyu.
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted that he was not the relationship manager for the accounts belonging to either Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech and therefore lacked detailed knowledge about the specific purpose of transactions into those accounts.
He also confirmed that Malami’s name did not appear on the loan application documents presented before the court.
Ajoma explained that the only name listed on the loan application was Abdulaziz Malami, who signed the documents as the Managing Director of Rayham Hotel Limited.
The witness further told the court that none of the transactions reviewed by the bank originated from any government account, the Federal Ministry of Justice or from Malami personally.
Ajoma also stated that based on the documents examined, he did not identify any suspicious transaction linked to the accounts under review and added that none of the transactions violated regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
After the witness concluded his testimony, the defence counsel applied for bail on behalf of Malami, his wife and their son.
The EFCC informed the court that it had no objection to the application but asked the judge to impose conditions that would ensure the defendants remain available for trial.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik granted bail to the three defendants in the sum of N200 million each with two sureties in like sum.
She ordered that one of the sureties must provide title documents for a landed property located in either Maitama or Asokoro in Abuja.
The court also directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registrar.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the judge ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The case was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for continuation of the trial.
