The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday re-arraigned former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, his wife, Asabe Bashir, and their son, Abdulaziz, over alleged money laundering offences.

The trio were re-arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja after the case was reassigned to a new judge.

At the resumed hearing, EFCC counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, told the court that the case was coming up before Justice Abdulmalik for the first time and requested that the defendants take their pleas.

He also applied for corrections to the amounts stated in counts 11 and 12 of the charge, asking the court to amend N325 billion to N325 million in count 11, and N120 billion to N120 million in count 12.

Defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, did not oppose the application, and the judge granted the request.
Malami, his wife and son pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge filed against them by the anti-graft agency.

The case had earlier been handled by Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge during the Christmas and New Year break. After the vacation, it was reassigned to Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who later withdrew from the matter on February 12. The case was subsequently reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik.

The defendants were first arraigned on December 30, 2025, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025.

Malami and his son were initially remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while his wife was remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre. They were later granted bail on January 7 in the sum of N500 million each, with two sureties in like sum.

(NAN)