Court grants Malami, others N500m bail
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abdulaziz Malami, his wife and son bail of N500 million each, with strict conditions including the submission of landed property documents and travelling papers.
Justice Nwite admitted the defendants to bail following their arraignment on a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
As reported by Channels TV, the sureties, according to the Judge, must have landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, and Gwarinpa.
The documents of the properties are to be verified by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, while the sureties are also to depose to an affidavit of means.
Malami was also ordered to deposit his travel documents with the court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
The defendants and their sureties were also directed to submit two recent passport photographs each to the court registry.
Meanwhile, Malami has been ordered to be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre pending his perfection of the bail conditions.
The court fixed February 17 for the commencement of the trial of the corruption charges.
It was earlier reported that the EFCC had filed a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering against Malami, his son, Abdulaziz, and his wife over alleged financial transactions amounting to about N9 billion.
The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on December 18, 2025, had upheld the continued detention of a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), by the EFCC.
Malami has been in EFCC custody since December 8, after he reportedly failed to meet the bail conditions set by the commission.
Justice Babangida Hassan dismissed Malami’s application seeking bail from the custody of the anti-graft agency, ruling that his detention was lawful.
“In his ruling, Justice Hassan held, quoting Section 35 of the Constitution, that since there was a provision in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, for detention, Malami was lawfully detained by the Remand Order of the court.
“Asking this court to grant this application is tantamount to inviting the court to sit as an appellate court over an application made by a court of coordinate jurisdiction, which the court has no power to do,” he said.
