The trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife Asabe Rakiya Bashir, and his son Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over alleged money laundering of N8.7 billion, advanced on Monday, March 16, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge alleging conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing, and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to N8,713,923,759.49, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Prosecution counsel J.S. Okutepa (SAN) presented Daniel Simon Kwayil, a compliance officer at Union Bank, as Prosecution Witness 2 (PW2).
Kwayil testified that following an EFCC request in 2025, the bank provided documents relating to Meethaq Hotels Limited, including the account opening package, certificate of compliance, forwarding letter, and statements for account number 0179011105.
The documents, dated December 23, 2025, on Union Bank letterhead, were identified by the witness, tendered by the prosecution, and admitted as Exhibit B series.
Defence counsel J.B. Daudu (SAN) raised no immediate objection but reserved the right to do so later.
Under examination, Kwayil drew the court’s attention to several key transactions from the Meethaq Hotels Limited account:February 5, 2024: N14 million instant transfer to Abubakar Malami on the company’s instruction.
March 4, 2024: N24 million transferred to Abubakar Malami.
February 3, 2024: N24 million paid to A.A. Malami and Co.
May 3, 2024: N12,500,000 transferred to A.A. Malami.
The witness confirmed that the second defendant, Asabe Rakiya Bashir (whom he identified in the dock), is the sole signatory to the Meethaq Hotels Limited account.
This was corroborated by her identification documents on pages 11 and 12 of the account opening package and the board resolution on page 10 designating her as the only authorised signatory.
Kwayil further outlined significant inflows into the account between November 2022 and January 2023 (reflected on pages 34–41 of the statements), including:
November 3, 2022: N1,745,242.73 and N21,202,209.36
November 8, 2022: N685,200.00 and N685,400.00
November 18, 2022: N1,047,019.55
November 28, 2022: Two separate N10 million deposits from YMB Energy Limited
December 2, 2022: N4,565,320.58
December 5, 2022: N4,828,880.56
December 20, 2022: N1,830,686.44
January 10, 2023: N43,177,453.94 and N4,650,781.50
The prosecution presented these bank records as direct evidence linking the defendants through the hotel company’s financial activities.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty.The matter was adjourned, with the trial set to continue as additional prosecution witnesses are expected to testify.
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