Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre following his court appearance on Tuesday over alleged money laundering offences.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, issued the remand order after Malami was arraigned alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and an associate, Bashir Asabe.
The court directed that the three defendants be kept at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail applications.
Malami and his co-defendants were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving several billions of naira. They, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
After listening to arguments from counsel to the defendants, led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), and the prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheneacho (SAN), Justice Nwite adjourned proceedings to January 2, 2026 for hearing of the bail applications.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, Malami, Asabe and Abdulaziz are accused of contravening provisions of the Money Laundering Act. One of the counts alleges that Malami and his son procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of N1,014,848,500 domiciled in Sterling Bank.
Another count alleges the former AGF unlawfully acquired multiple properties, including:
The EFCC alleges that the assets were purchased with proceeds of unlawful activity.
The defendants remain in custody pending the court’s decision on their bail applications. They are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.