A federal high court in Abuja has granted bail to Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), alongside his wife, Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, in the sum of N500 million each.
Gatekeepers News reports that ruling on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered that each defendant must provide two sureties in like sum.
The sureties are required to own landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarimpa within the Federal Capital Territory and must swear to an affidavit of means. The court also directed that two passport photographs of each surety be submitted to the deputy registrar.
The judge further ordered the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court and barred them from travelling outside the country without prior approval. The case was adjourned to February 17 for continuation of trial.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Malami and the other defendants on charges bordering on money laundering involving about N8.7 billion.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The anti-graft agency has also linked assets estimated at about N212 billion to the former AGF.
The defendants were earlier remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre on December 30, 2025, pending the hearing of their bail applications.
According to the 16-count charge, the EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired between 2015 and 2025 to launder proceeds of unlawful activities through bank accounts and companies linked to the Malami family.
The commission named firms such as Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited and Meethaq Hotels Limited as channels allegedly used to move and conceal the funds.
EFCC further claimed that some of the money was used as cash collateral for bank facilities, while other portions were allegedly deployed to acquire high-value properties in Abuja, Kano, and Kebbi states.
The commission said the transactions were structured to hide the true source and ownership of the funds.
The alleged offences are said to be in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and other relevant financial crime laws.
