BREAKING: Court Grants Malami Family ₦200m Bail Each in Money Laundering Trial

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife, Asabe Bashir, in an ongoing money laundering trial.

Each of the defendants was granted bail in the sum of ₦200 million as the case moves to the next stage of hearing.
The ruling was delivered on Friday by Joyce Abdulmalik, who presides over the matter at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Justice Abdulmalik directed that each defendant must provide two sureties in like sum as part of the bail conditions. The court also ruled that one of the sureties must present title documents of landed property located in either Maitama or Asokoro, two high-value districts in the Federal Capital Territory.

In addition, the court ordered the three defendants to submit their international passports to the court registry. This is to ensure they remain within the jurisdiction of the court while the trial continues.

Pending the completion of their bail conditions, the defendants were ordered to remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The matter has been adjourned until March 16 for the commencement of trial proceedings.

The decision followed a bail application filed by the defence after Malami and the other defendants were re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Earlier proceedings showed that the anti-graft agency brought a 16-count charge against the trio, bordering on alleged money laundering. The charges were read before the court after the defendants were brought back for arraignment on February 27.

During the arraignment, the three defendants denied all allegations levelled against them. They each entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.

Following the plea, the court fixed March 6 to rule on the bail application before later granting the request under strict conditions.