By Babs Oyetoro
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has instituted a 16-count money laundering prosecution against former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), over allegations that about ₦9 billion was illicitly processed and deployed to acquire no fewer than 30 high-end properties in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and other locations.
The former justice minister is being tried alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and Hajia Bashir Asabe, identified as a staff member of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
The charges are brought under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In the charge sheet dated December 23, 2025, the anti-graft agency alleged that Malami routed suspect funds through a network of corporate vehicles, including Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, allegedly to disguise the origin of proceeds said to have been generated while he held office between 2015 and 2023 under the Administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari.
The EFCC further accused the defendants of covertly acquiring and concealing assets comprising luxury homes, hotels, duplexes, estates, plazas and expansive parcels of land.
Investigators estimate the cumulative value of the properties at about ₦212.8 billion, with a significant number allegedly purchased during Malami’s eight-year tenure as the nation’s chief law officer.
According to the commission, the alleged laundering scheme involved the use of bank accounts domiciled with Sterling Bank and Union Bank, as well as cash-based collateral structures, to obscure the flow of funds.
The transactions, the EFCC claimed, ran into hundreds of millions and, in some instances, billions of naira.
The agency disclosed that it is also examining the option of triggering the Non-Conviction-Based Asset Forfeiture provisions of the EFCC Establishment Act to place interim custody over some of the disputed assets.
Under the procedure, the commission is required to issue a 14-day public notice inviting interested parties to show cause why the properties should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The matter is slated for hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with an arraignment date expected to be fixed shortly.
Sources familiar with the case describe it as a high-profile prosecution, noting that the EFCC has assembled a senior legal team led by Chief Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) and Ekene Iheanacho (SAN), supported by 14 other counsel. At least 10 witnesses have also been front-loaded in compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
As of yesterday, Malami remained in EFCC custody and had yet to issue a formal response to the charges.
However, in his last public intervention, the former Minister called on the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to recuse himself from the matter.
The prosecution is shaping up as one of the most expansive corruption cases ever brought against a former Attorney-General of the Federation, reinforcing the EFCC’s renewed drive to pursue alleged high-level financial crimes and cases of asset concealment to their logical conclusion.
