The trial of the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, continued on Monday before the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a bank compliance officer explaining how money was repeatedly transferred to the former minister through the bank account of a hotel.
The witness, Mr. Daniel Simon Kwayil, who serves as a compliance officer in a bank, told the court that the transfers originated from the account of Meethaq Hotels Limited. According to his testimony, the account listed Malami’s wife, Asabe Rakiya Bashir, as its sole signatory.
Kwayil appeared as the second prosecution witness and identified Malami’s wife in the dock during the proceedings.
Malami, who served as Justice Minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, under the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, is currently standing trial alongside his son, Abdulaziz, and his wife, Asabe.
The three defendants are facing a 16-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy, the disguising and concealment of illicit funds, and the laundering of proceeds believed to have come from unlawful activities.
The prosecution, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, alleged that the accused persons laundered public funds amounting to about N9 billion.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants allegedly attempted to conceal proceeds of crime through the acquisition of high-value properties in different locations including Abuja, Kebbi and Kano.
The EFCC further told the court that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants allegedly used a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal more than N1.01 billion in a bank account.
They were also accused of using the same firm to divert approximately N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.
The commission equally alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained N600 million as cash collateral to secure a N500 million loan obtained by another company, Rayhaan Hotels Limited, despite allegedly knowing that the funds involved were proceeds of crime.
According to the prosecution, the actions of the defendants contravened several provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Although the three defendants initially pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody, the court granted them bail on March 6 in the sum of N200 million each, with two sureties in the same amount.
During Monday’s proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Mr. J. S. Okutepa, SAN, led the second prosecution witness in evidence.
Kwayil told the court that in 2025 the bank received a request from the EFCC asking for documents related to account number 0179011105 operated by Meethaq Hotels Limited.
Referring to the statement of account presented before the court, the witness disclosed that on February 5, 2024, a payment of ₦14 million was made via instant transfer to Malami on the instruction of the hotel.
He further stated that on March 4, 2024, another transfer of N24 million was made to the former attorney-general from the same account. The witness added that the same amount had earlier been transferred to Malami’s law firm, A. A. Malami and Co., on February 3, 2024.
The court also heard that on May 3, 2024, a transfer of N12.5 million was made to Malami, as reflected on page 38 of the exhibit before the court.
When asked to identify the signatory to the hotel’s account, the witness explained that the signatory was Malami’s wife, the second defendant in the case.
He informed the court that her identification card appeared on pages 11 and 12 of the account opening documents, while the board resolution contained on page 10 of the exhibit designated her as the sole signatory to the account.
Kwayil added that the hotel’s statement of account covered pages 34 to 41 of the exhibit and captured both inflows and outflows.
Continuing his testimony, the witness revealed that on November 3, 2022, the account received two deposits of N1,745,242.73 and N21,202,209.36.
He also told the court that on November 8, 2022, the account received N685,200 and N685,400, followed by another inflow of N1,047,019.55 on November 18, 2022.
According to the witness, on November 28, 2022, the account received two separate transfers of N10 million each from YMB Energy Limited.
He further explained that on December 2, 2022, the account received N4,565,320.58, while on December 5, 2022, another deposit of N4,828,880.56 was recorded.
The witness said an inflow of N1,83,686.44 was recorded on December 20, 2022.
He continued that the account also received N43,177,453.94 and another N4,650,781.50 on January 10, 2023.
Kwayil told the court that on January 17, 2023, the account received N915,540.84, and on February 12, 2023, it received N25,483,054.24, all through transfers linked to Meethaq Hotels Limited.
He further testified that on March 3, 2025, the account recorded an inflow of N11,166,235.10, followed by another deposit of N118,814.64 on March 14, 2023, and N13,388,808.38 on April 3, 2023.
After the second prosecution witness concluded his testimony, the EFCC presented its third witness, Mr. Olomotane Egoro, who also works as a bank compliance officer.
Egoro told the court that the bank had received another request from the EFCC seeking documents relating to Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Nigeria Limited and Khadimiyya for Justice and Development Initiative.
According to him, the documents requested included forwarding letters, certificates of identification, account opening forms, loan offer letters, memoranda of acceptance and statements of account.
He said the requests were dated February 6 and February 9, 2026.
However, when the prosecution attempted to tender the documents, defence counsel Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, raised an objection, arguing that the witness’s statement had not been provided to the defence in advance to confirm whether he was testifying under subpoena.
In her ruling, the presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, held that since the bank was listed among institutions expected to provide witnesses, the defence still had the opportunity to cross-examine the witness and request time to review his testimony if necessary.
During his testimony, the third prosecution witness told the court that Malami’s son was the sole signatory to the bank account of Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Nigeria Limited as indicated in the loan documentation.
He said the loan facility amounted to N400 million and was contained in pages 4 to 4E of the exhibits, along with the acceptance letter.
Egoro explained that the loan was disbursed on October 9, 2020, into the company’s account and was eventually fully repaid on July 14, 2022.
He added that on November 10, 2020, N100 million was transferred from the account to New Horizon Limited, while N10,575,360 was also transferred to the same company on the same date.
According to the witness, five additional transfers of N20 million each, totalling N100 million, were also made to New Horizon Limited that same day.
He further stated that when the loan was disbursed on October 9, 2020, the account was credited with N400 million, while deductions of N4 million as management fee and N300,000 as VAT were made immediately.
The witness also told the court that on November 10, 2020, the account recorded a debit of N1,185,792.35 as interest liquidation.
Egoro also testified regarding another account linked to Khadimiyya for Justice and Development Initiative, stating that the signatories to the account were Malami’s son and Faruku Abubakar.
He explained that the first inflow into the account occurred on October 17, 2019, when N500,000 was deposited by Abdulaziz Malami.
He added that another N500,000 deposit was made by the same individual on October 23, 2019, while on October 28, 2019, the account received N1,720,000.
According to the witness, Musa Yamilu Galadanci deposited N1.5 million on October 29, 2019, while Chimugu Surajo paid N1.2 million into the account on October 30, 2019.
He also revealed that on October 4, 2019, the account received N8 million from Afuwa Services Limited.
The witness further said that on November 5, 2019, A.A. Funtua FX Limited deposited N1 million into the account, while a cash deposit of N2 million was made on November 6, 2019, by Faruku Madugu Gwandu.
He added that on November 27, 2019, N500,000 was deposited by Aliyu Gwandu, while Halliru Bala paid N2.5 million into the account on November 28, 2019.
Egoro told the court that Afuwa Integrated Services Limited deposited N15 million into the account on January 23, 2020, and another N10 million on January 29, 2020.
He stated that the total lodgment into the Khadimiyya for Justice and Development Initiative account between October 17, 2019 and December 31, 2023 amounted to N722,986,603.75.
The witness also informed the court that the total lodgment into the Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Limited account between March 26, 2020 and January 31, 2025 stood at N1,857,978,100.
Following the testimony, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until April 20 for continuation of hearing.
What you should know
The trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami is one of the high-profile corruption cases being prosecuted by the EFCC in Nigeria.
The anti-graft agency alleges that billions of naira linked to unlawful activities were laundered through companies, hotel accounts and related financial transactions involving the former minister, his wife and his son.
Court proceedings are expected to continue with more witnesses and financial documents as prosecutors attempt to establish the alleged flow of funds and the defendants present their defence before the Federal High Court.
