By Taiye Agbaje
Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to the allegations bordering on money laundering offences preferred against him and others by the EFCC.
Malami, his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz, and Hajia Bashir Asabe, an employee of a firm linked to the former minister, Rahamaniyya Properties Ltd, all pleaded not guilty to the 16 counts while being arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC had, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, named the ex-minister, Asabe and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
The anti-graft agency, in the charge, accused the defendants of carrying out various suspicious transactions and attempting to conceal the unlawful origin of billions of naira through bank accounts and property acquisitions across Abuja, Kano and Kebbi.
They allegedly committed the offences between 2015 and 2025, a period that includes the eight years Malami served as the AGF during the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The commission alleged that Malami, his son, and Asabe conspired to disguise the origin of funds, acquire property indirectly, and retain sums they allegedly knew were proceeds of unlawful activity, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts of 2011 (as amended) and 2022.(NAN)(www.namnews.ng)