A Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted nine documentary exhibits in the ongoing trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Malami.
Presiding over the case, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik allowed the exhibits to be tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of its prosecution against the defendants. The trio is facing an amended 16-count charge involving allegations of conspiracy, concealment, and laundering of proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to N8.7 billion, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The exhibits were presented through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, during examination led by prosecution counsel Jibrin Okutepa (SAN). Bata informed the court that he received official requests from the EFCC for documents linked to accounts associated with the defendants and affiliated entities.
According to the witness, Zenith Bank’s Maitama branch complied with the requests by providing both digital and physical records tied to accounts belonging to the defendants and companies including Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
He confirmed that the submitted documents—dated between July 19, 2024, and March 12, 2026—were nine in number and were admitted as Exhibits D1 to D9 despite initial objections from defence counsel Joseph Daudu (SAN).
While giving further testimony, Bata detailed transactions contained in the exhibits. He identified Exhibit D1 as containing account opening documents and statements linked to Abubakar Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, covering both naira and dollar accounts. He noted that one account statement spanned January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2023, with active transactions recorded between 2015 and 2023.
The court heard that total credits into one account reached over N383 million between 2016 and 2023, while earlier credits between 2012 and 2015 totaled over N560 million. Debit transactions also ran into hundreds of millions within the same periods.
The witness further highlighted significant inflows, including N194.7 million from New Horizons Limited in November 2020, N622.5 million from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited in June 2022, and multiple N250 million transfers from Rayhaan Hotels Limited in July 2022. Another N500 million inflow was recorded in December 2022 from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.
Following the testimony, defence counsel requested an adjournment to review the newly admitted exhibits and prepare for cross-examination. Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case to May 13, 2026.
