N8.7bn Fraud Trial: Don’t try to approach me, judge warns EFCC, Malami, lawyers

The judge overseeing the N8.7 billion money laundering trial of former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami warned on Wednesday that no one connected with the case should attempt to approach him.

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Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued the warning while delivering his ruling on the bail application filed by Mr Malami and his co-defendants – one of his wives, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz Malami.

“Irrespective of my familiarity with you, when I am dealing with any case, do not approach me. The law cannot be bent as far as this court is concerned,” the judge cautioned.

He said his leniency should not be mistaken for weakness.

Addressing the defendants, the prosecution agency – the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – as well as their lawyers, more specifically, the judge said, “So, I want to warn each and every litigant and lawyer appearing before this court that they should understand the way this court works.

“Please, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Any attempt to tarnish my name will be resisted and dealt with. I warned, I warned, and I warned.”

Mr Malami, the AGF during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration between 2015 and 2023, is standing trial alongside his wife and son on 16 counts of money laundering involving about N8.7 billion.

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In the charges brought by the EFCC, the prosecution accused them of retention of proceeds of unlawful activity and illegitimate acquisition of assets with funds of suspicious origins.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the court granted each of the three defendants bail in the sum of N500 million, with two sureties in the same amount, on Wednesday.

It further ordered that the sureties to be presented by the defendants must own verifiable properties in the Maitama or Gwarinpa areas of Abuja.

It was at the end of the ruling that the judge cautioned against overtures from lawyers or their clients in the trial.

He asked the parties and lawyers to understand the nature of the court before which they appear, noting that “all judges are not the same”.

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Mr Nwite maintained that rather than seeking undue access to him, the parties should get good lawyers to handle their case.

Also on Wednesday, the judge granted EFCC’s application for an order of interim forfeiture of 57 properties suspected to be proceeds of Mr Malami’s unlawful activities.

Mr Nwite granted the order following an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC and moved by its counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.