A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre alongside his son and wife, pending the hearing of their bail application.
The Federal High Court ordered the remand of Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and his fourth wife, Bashir Asabe, following their arraignment on a 16-count money laundering charge.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, made the order after taking arguments from the defence team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN) and the prosecution counsel Ekele Iheneacho (SAN).
Earlier, the three defendants had pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to them by the court registrar.
In the charge instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants conspired at various times to conceal, retain and disguise proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to several billions of naira.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences span several years and involved the use of companies and bank accounts to launder funds, the retention of large sums of cash as collateral for loans, as well as the acquisition of high-value properties in Abuja, Kano and other locations.
The commission further alleged that some of the offences were committed while Malami was serving as the 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 for further proceedings.
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