A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday admitted nine documentary exhibits tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami. The trial……
A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday admitted nine documentary exhibits tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami.
The trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, admitted the documents marked Exhibits D1 to D9 despite an objection from defence counsel, J. B. Daudu (SAN), who argued that “the dates are almost all in March.”
The EFCC while disclosing this in a post via its X handle, stated that the agency is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering alleged proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to N8,713,923,759.49, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The exhibits were tendered through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, who told the court he acted on official requests from the anti-graft agency.
“I work as a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama branch. My duty includes receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies and responding accordingly,” he said.
Bata disclosed that the bank provided both electronic and physical copies of documents linked to accounts associated with the defendants and several companies, including Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
“My lord, the documents are nine,” he added, affirming his ability to identify them when presented in court.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, J. S. Okutepa (SAN), the witness explained that the documents, dated between July 19, 2024 and March 12, 2026, were compiled in response to EFCC’s request for account details and transaction histories.
Further testifying under examination by Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), Bata identified Exhibit D1 as containing account opening documents and statements for accounts linked to Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, including both naira and dollar accounts.
He told the court that one of the account statements covered transactions from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2023, noting that the accounts were active between 2015 and 2023 and recorded multiple transfers.
According to him, total inflows into one of the accounts stood at N383,637,21.55 between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2023, while credits between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015 amounted to N560,506,465.12.
On the debit side, he said N384,322,120.85 was recorded between 2016 and 2023, while N571,891,174.08 was withdrawn between 2012 and 2015.
The witness also highlighted specific transactions, telling the court that on November 11, 2020, the account received N194,791,608.00 from New Horizons Limited, while on June 24, 2022, it recorded an inflow of N622,500,000.00 from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.
He further stated that the account received N250 million each on July 1 and July 7, 2022 from Rayhaan Hotels Limited, and another N500 million on December 22, 2022 linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.
Bata added that several other transactions running into billions of naira were reflected in the exhibits as the prosecution continues to build its case.
The matter till May 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.
