The trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, continued on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a compliance officer from Zenith Bank telling the court that the bank filed Suspicious Transaction Reports over transactions linked to accounts associated with the former minister.
The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, appeared before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, where he testified as part of the ongoing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Malami is standing trial alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over an amended 16-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, concealment and laundering of about N8.7 billion said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
While being cross-examined by defence counsel, Adebayo Adedeji, SAN, the witness admitted that the transactions captured in the account statements complied with existing guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Despite that, he told the court that the bank still considered it necessary to notify relevant authorities through formal reporting channels.
“But we had to file Suspicious Transaction Report. We did file,” Bata said during proceedings.
The courtroom later witnessed a brief legal disagreement after prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, asked the witness to explain what qualifies as a Suspicious Transaction Report.
The defence opposed the question, arguing that the witness had already made his position clear and that there was no need for further explanation.
However, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed the objection after the prosecution relied on provisions of Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act to justify the line of questioning.
Giving further clarification, the witness explained that banks are expected to report transactions that appear unusual or follow repeated patterns capable of raising compliance concerns.
“Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU,” he told the court.
Bata also informed the court that his duties as a compliance officer mainly involved responding to requests and correspondence from law enforcement agencies. He added that he was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager overseeing the accounts being investigated.
After the testimony, the court discharged the witness and adjourned the matter until May 22 for continuation of trial.
