The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is holding former Attorney General Abubakar Malami in detention despite a court order granting him bail, a standoff that intensified on Wednesday.
The agency filed 16 fresh money laundering charges against the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, alleging he conspired with his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and an employee of a property firm, Hajia Bashir Asabe, to launder approximately 9 billion naira ($6 million; ยฃ4.7 million) for property acquisitions in Abuja, Kebbi, and Kano.
Following this development, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General will likely remain with the commission after already spending fourteen days in custody.
Malami’s office in press statement dated 23 December, claimed that officials from the EFCC were formally served with a bail order from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory but did not comply.
“Rather than comply with the authority of the court, the Commission refused to accept the court-backed letter, chased away the bailiff, and insisted on the continued detention of Mr Malami in blatant defiance of the law,” the statement asserted.
It described the agency’s conduct as representing “nothing short of institutional lawlessness,” accusing it of “treating binding judicial orders with open disdain.”
Central to the dispute is the legal timeframe of Mr Malami’s detention. His legal team contends that an initial court order authorising his detention for a maximum of 14 days had expired on the very day the new charges were filed.
“It is worthy of note that the EFCC is currently detaining Abubakar Malami, SAN, solely on the strength of a High Court order that permitted his detention for a maximum period of fourteen (14) days, an order which expires today,” his office’s statement read.
“Even without regard to the separate bail granted by another High Court of competent jurisdiction, the EFCC was legally obligated to either release him immediately or arraign him before a court today. It has done neither.”
According to the charge sheet, Mr Malami faces nine primary allegations centred on property acquisitions and financial transactions during and after his tenure. The EFCC insists that he must account for 30 properties worth approximately N212.8 billion, largely amassed between 2015 and 2023.
The Core Charges
The first set of charges accuses Mr Malami and his son of using a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to launder funds. Count 1 states they concealed over N1 billion between July 2022 and June 2025. Count 2 alleges a similar concealment of N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021, while Mr Malami was still in office.
A significant portion of the charges focus on specific high-value property purchases in Abujaโs most exclusive neighbourhoods. Count 4 details the alleged disguising of N500 million used to buy a luxury duplex on Amazon Street in Maitama. Count 7 involves a N700 million transaction for a property on Onitsha Crescent in Garki. Counts 8 and 9 relate to properties on Plot 683 in Jabi District (N850 million) and at No. 3 Rhine Street in Maitama (N430 million), respectively.
Further charges allege earlier transactions. Count 10 references a N210 million property in Asokoro, while Count 11 involves a N325 million purchase on Yakubu Gowon Crescent, also in Asokoro. Count 12 details a N120 million property in Efab Estate, Gwarimpa.
The EFCC has indicated it may also pursue civil asset forfeiture, a process that could see some properties seised even before a criminal conviction is secured.
In response to the commission’s actions, Mr Malami’s office has launched a counter accusation, alleging a “media trial” designed to sway public opinion.
“Rather than submit itself to due process, the EFCC has instead embarked on an orchestrated media trial,” the statement claimed, calling it “a direct assault on the principles of justice, fairness, and the rule of law.”
“When an anti-corruption agency begins to disobey court orders, detain citizens indefinitely, and weaponise the media, it ceases to be an instrument of justice and becomes a threat to democracy itself,” it added.
The EFCC has not issued a public statement explaining its decision not to release Mr Malami following the bail order.
Legal analysts suggest the agency may be relying on the fact that filing new, serious charges can sometimes provide a fresh legal basis for continued detention, a point likely to be contested vigorously by the defence.
โThe EFCC is likely navigating a procedural grey area,โ speculates an Abuja based constitutional lawyer. โThey may argue that the bail order was for the investigative detention, which has now culminated in charges. Their obligation shifts to arraigning him on the new charge sheet, and they might believe they have a brief, lawful window to hold him until that arraignment is scheduled.
However, defying a clear bail order is an extremely high-risk strategy that undermines their own legitimacy”, he said.
โThe expiration of the initial 14-day detention order is a critical failure in the EFCCโs position,โ argues a senior advocate not involved in the case.
He said: โLegally, that order is spent. It no longer provides any cover for his detention. The fresh charges create a new cause for action, but they do not automatically nullify the existing bail order from a court of coordinate jurisdiction. The Commission is placing itself in a precarious position of contempt by choosing which court order to obey.โ
โThis is a profound test of institutional hierarchy,โ observes a professor of law.
โThis is the countryโs foremost anti-graft agency, formerly led by the suspect himself, now openly clashing with the judiciary. The EFCC appears to be betting that the gravity of a N212 billion allegation against a former Attorney-General will eclipse the procedural violation in the court of public opinion, and that they can regularize the process at his arraignment before any sanction for contempt takes effect.
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