The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, alongside his wife and son in the ongoing N9 billion money laundering case filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Malami and the two family members are being prosecuted on a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering.
During the resumed hearing, the trial judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, directed the EFCC to call its first witness after Malami’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, attempted to draw the court’s attention to the defendants’ pending bail application.
Justice Abdulmalik reminded the defence that she had earlier ruled that the bail request and other motions would be addressed after the prosecution’s first witness presented his evidence-in-chief.
Following the directive, the EFCC called its first witness, David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank in Abuja.
Ajoma told the court that he had been working with the bank for three years and was responsible for handling compliance requests from law enforcement agencies.
According to him, on December 2, 2025, Sterling Bank received a request from the EFCC seeking details of loan facilities granted to Rayham Hotel Limited.
He explained that the bank subsequently forwarded documents including the account opening package, loan account statements and other supporting records requested by investigators.
The witness stated that the loan facility granted to Rayham Hotel Limited was backed by a cash collateral from Metropolitan Autotech.
Ajoma also informed the court that both companies maintain separate accounts with Sterling Bank and 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 either Rayham Hotel Limited or Metropolitan Autotech accounts and therefore did not have full knowledge of the purpose of specific inflows into the accounts.
He further confirmed that Malami’s name did not appear on the loan application documents presented in court.
According to him, the only name listed on the loan application was Abdulaziz Malami, who signed as the Managing Director of Rayham Hotel Limited.
Ajoma also told the court that none of the transactions reviewed originated from any government account, the Federal Ministry of Justice, or from Malami personally.
The compliance officer added that from the documents presented, he could not identify any suspicious transaction linked to the accounts and that none violated regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
After the witness concluded his testimony, defence counsel formally applied for bail on behalf of Malami, his wife and their son.
The EFCC told the court that it did not oppose the request but asked that strict conditions be imposed to 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.
The court ordered that one of the sureties must deposit title documents of landed property located in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja.
The judge also directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registrar.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the court ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The case was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for the continuation of the trial.
