The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending the hearing and determination of his bail application.
The order was contained in court proceedings made available to journalists, following the arraignment of Malami and his co-defendants by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the matter, also directed that Malami’s son, Abubakar Malami, and one of his wives, Bashir Asabe, be remanded alongside him at the correctional facility.
The court made the order after listening to arguments from the defence team led by Joseph Daudu, SAN, and the prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheneacho, SAN.
Malami and the other defendants are facing a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering, filed against them by the EFCC.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants allegedly conspired at different times to conceal, retain and disguise proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to several billions of naira.
The charge sheet further alleged that the offences spanned several years and involved the use of companies and multiple bank accounts to launder funds.
It also accused the defendants of retaining large sums of cash as collateral for loans and acquiring high-value properties in Abuja, Kano, and other locations.
The commission claimed that some of the alleged offences were committed while Malami was serving as Attorney General of the Federation, in violation of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011, as amended, and the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to a later date for the hearing of the bail applications, while ordering that the defendants remain in custody until then.
