Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday admitted nine additional exhibits in the ongoing trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami,
alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami.
The exhibits were tendered by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of its prosecution of the defendants over alleged financial crimes.
The anti-graft agency is prosecuting the trio on an amended 16-count charge involving conspiracy, concealment, and laundering of funds allegedly amounting to N8.7 billion, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The documents were presented through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), the witness explained that the bank received official requests from the EFCC seeking records tied to accounts linked to the defendants and certain corporate entities.
Bata told the court that part of his responsibilities at Zenith Bank’s Maitama branch includes handling requests from law enforcement agencies and providing relevant documentation when required.
He further stated that the bank complied with the EFCC’s request by submitting both electronic and physical records related to accounts connected to the defendants, as well as companies including Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
According to the witness, the documents—nine in total—were identifiable and covered a period between July 19, 2024, and March 12, 2026.
Despite an initial objection from defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the court admitted the documents as Exhibits D1 to D9 following an application by the prosecution.
During further examination by prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), the witness provided insight into the financial records. He explained that Exhibit D1 included account opening documents and statements relating to accounts held by Abubakar Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, covering both naira and dollar accounts.
He noted that one of the account statements spanned January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2023, confirming that the accounts were active between 2015 and 2023, with multiple transactions recorded within that period.
Providing a breakdown, the witness said total inflows into one of the accounts amounted to over N383 million between 2016 and 2023, while earlier credits from 2012 to 2015 stood at over N560 million. Debit transactions, he added, reflected similar volumes across the same periods.
The court also heard details of specific transactions, including a transfer of N194.7 million from New Horizons Limited on November 11, 2020, and N622.5 million from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited on June 24, 2022.
Further inflows included two separate payments of N250 million each from Rayhaan Hotels Limited in July 2022, as well as a N500 million transaction in December 2022 linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.
The witness indicated that several other high-value transactions running into billions of naira were captured in the exhibits.
Following the testimony, defence counsel requested an adjournment to enable adequate review of the newly admitted documents in preparation for cross-examination.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned proceedings until May 13, 2026, for the continuation of trial and cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness.
