A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted nine documentary exhibits in the ongoing trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), over alleged money laundering.
Malami is being prosecuted alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, on a 16-count amended charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The charges border on conspiracy, concealment, and laundering of alleged illicit funds totaling ₦8.7 billion.
Presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, admitted the documents after they were presented by the EFCC through its fourth prosecution witness, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, Mashelia Arhyel Bata.
While testifying, Bata explained that the documents were provided in response to a formal request from the anti-graft agency.
“I work as a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, and part of my responsibilities includes responding to requests from law enforcement agencies,” he said.
“In this case, we supplied both electronic and hard copies of account records linked to the defendants and some associated companies.”
The witness identified the entities connected to the accounts as Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.
According to him, the documents—dated between July 2024 and March 2026—were admitted as Exhibits D1 to D9.
Defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, initially objected to the admissibility of the documents, citing concerns over their dates. However, the court dismissed the objection and allowed them in evidence.
During further testimony, Bata provided details of transactions linked to the accounts.
He noted that one of the accounts recorded total inflows of over ₦383 million between 2016 and 2023, while earlier credits from 2012 to 2015 exceeded ₦560 million.
On the debit side, he said transactions amounted to more than ₦384 million between 2016 and 2023, and over ₦571 million between 2012 and 2015.
Highlighting specific transactions, the witness told the court, “On November 11, 2020, the account received ₦194.7 million from New Horizons Limited.”
He further disclosed that “on June 24, 2022, ₦622.5 million was credited from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, while ₦250 million each was received on July 1 and July 7, 2022, from Rayhaan Hotels Limited.”
“Another ₦500 million inflow was recorded on December 22, 2022, also linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited,” he added.
Bata stated that several other high-value transactions, running into billions of naira, were reflected in the exhibits presented before the court.
Following the testimony, the defence requested time to review the documents in preparation for cross-examination.
“My Lord, we need adequate time to study the nine exhibits tendered by the prosecution,” Daudu said.
Granting the request, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until May 13, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
