A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted nine documentary exhibits in the ongoing trial of Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation, alongside his wife, Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over alleged money laundering amounting to N8.7 billion.
The trial, presided over by Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court, saw the admission of the exhibits tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of its prosecution of the former minister and his family members.
The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procurement, concealment, and laundering of proceeds of unlawful activities, allegedly totalling N8,713,923,759.49, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The exhibits were presented by Mashelia Bata, the fourth prosecution witness, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel J.S. Okutepa, the witness told the court that he received official requests from the EFCC for documents relating to accounts linked to the defendants and associated companies.
Bata explained that, in line with his duties, the bank provided both soft and hard copies of requested documents covering accounts belonging to the defendants and several entities, 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,” the witness confirmed, adding that he could identify them when presented.
Despite an initial objection by defence counsel J.B. Daudu, SAN, who raised concerns about the dates on the documents, the court admitted the materials, dated between July 19, 2024, and March 12, 2026, as Exhibits D1 to D9.
Under further examination by prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho, the witness provided a breakdown of transactions contained in the exhibits.
He identified Exhibit D1 as comprising account opening documents and statements for accounts linked to Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, including both naira and dollar accounts.
According to Bata, one of the account statements covered transactions from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2023, with the accounts remaining active between 2015 and 2023.
He told the court that total credits into one account between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2023, stood at over N383 million, while credits from 2012 to 2015 exceeded N560 million.
According to a statement by Dele Oyewale EFCC’s Spokesman, debit transactions during the same periods were also detailed, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.
The witness further highlighted specific inflows, including N194.79 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 in December 2022 was also linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.
He noted that several other transactions running into billions of naira were captured across the exhibits.
Following the testimony, defence counsel Daudu requested an adjournment to allow adequate time to review the admitted documents and prepare for cross-examination.
“My lord, we need time to go through the nine exhibits tendered,” he said.
Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case until May 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.
