EFCC Charges Former AGF Malami Over N212bn Empire and N9bn Laundering
The man who guarded Nigeria’s laws for eight years now stands accused of breaking them on a grand scale.
Abubakar Malami (SAN), the immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under Muhammadu Buhari, woke up Christmas Eve to a 16-count money laundering charge slammed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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Filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 23, the case drags in his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and Hajia Bashir Asabe, an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, alleged to be a key proxy in the scheme.
The core accusation: between 2015 and 2025—spanning Malami‘s entire tenure as AGF—the trio allegedly laundered billions through corporate fronts like Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited and Meethaq Hotels Ltd, concealing origins to snap up luxury assets.
One count spotlights N1.014 billion hidden in a Sterling Bank account from July 2022 to June 2025. Another: N500 million disguised for a Maitama duplex in November 2022. The list rolls on—N1.36 billion routed through Union Bank for hotels, N700 million for a Garki property in 2018.
But the real jaw-dropper? EFCC investigators traced 41 properties to Malami, valued at a staggering N212.89 billion. Spread across Kebbi (N162bn), Kano (N16bn), and Abuja (N34.7bn), the haul includes gleaming hotels like Azbir and Rayhaan chains, a private university (Rayhaan University), rice mills, schools, mosques, plazas, and sprawling residences in elite districts—Maitama duplexes, Asokoro mansions, Gwarimpa bungalows. Most acquired during his time as the nation’s top law officer.
Prosecutors say the funds were “proceeds of unlawful activity,” routed through proxies to evade scrutiny. If convicted under the Money Laundering Acts of 2011 and 2022, penalties could hit 20 years—plus forfeiture.
Malami‘s camp? Crickets so far. But this isn’t his first dance with the EFCC. Detained earlier this month over separate probes—including alleged $16.9 million Abacha loot fees—he’s been on interim bail since December 23, passport surrendered.
He once demanded EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede recuse himself, crying “witch-hunt” tied to old grudges.
Arraignment looms early 2026. Witnesses lined up: bank officials, BDC operators, company reps. EFCC eyes non-conviction forfeiture—14 days for anyone to claim the properties before they’re seized for the federation.Eight years as Nigeria’s justice gatekeeper.
Billions in bricks and mortar.
One charge sheet that could bury it all. When the hunter becomes the hunted, who guards the gate?
