A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of money laundering instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Malami was arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and his fourth wife, Bashir Asabe.

The three defendants denied all the allegations after the charges were read to them by the court registrar during the arraignment proceedings.

The EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired at different times to conceal, retain and disguise proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to several billions of naira.

According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences were committed over a number of years and involved sophisticated financial transactions designed to launder funds through multiple companies and bank accounts.

The commission further accused the defendants of retaining large sums of cash as collateral for loans and using such funds to acquire high-value properties located in Abuja, Kano and other parts of the country.

The EFCC also claimed that some of the alleged money laundering offences occurred during the period Malami served as Nigeria’s chief law officer.

“The defendants are alleged to have engaged in acts that contravene the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), as well as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022,” the prosecution stated.

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to a later date to allow the court to consider bail applications from the defendants and to fix dates for the commencement of trial.

Details later…