The commission said it has lined up at least 10 witnesses for the trial and assembled a large prosecution team led by senior advocates, including Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) and Ekene Iheanacho (SAN).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a 16-count money laundering charge against former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and a property firm employee, over alleged illicit financial transactions and assets valued at about ₦212.8 billion.
According to the charge sheet dated December 23, 2025, and filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the anti-graft agency accused Malami of using proxies and corporate entities to conceal and launder funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities during and after his tenure in office between 2015 and 2023. The EFCC said the case involves at least 30 high-value properties located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and other parts of the country, most of which were allegedly acquired while he served as Attorney-General.
The defendants are accused of violating provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The EFCC alleged that billions of naira were funnelled through companies such as Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, Meethaq Hotels Limited and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited to disguise the origin of the funds and facilitate property acquisitions.
Court documents allege that between 2015 and 2025, the defendants conspired to conceal, retain, control and indirectly acquire assets using proceeds suspected to be unlawful, including large cash payments for luxury residences in Maitama, Asokoro, Garki, Gwarimpa and Jabi districts of Abuja, as well as properties in Kano and Kebbi states. Some of the alleged transactions involved sums running into hundreds of millions of naira, while others exceeded ₦1 billion.
The EFCC also indicated it may invoke its non-conviction-based asset forfeiture powers to temporarily seize the disputed properties, giving interested parties a statutory window to challenge the forfeiture before the assets are handed over to the Federal Government.
As of the time of filing, Malami had not made an official public response, though the EFCC confirmed he remained in its custody. In an earlier statement, the former justice minister had called on the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to step aside from the case, citing concerns over impartiality.
The court is yet to fix a date for the arraignment.
