A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail of N200 million each to a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz.
The three are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on money laundering charges involving about N8.7billion.
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In a ruling on Friday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik also ordered each of the defendants to produce two sureties who must have developed landed properties in Maitama or Asokoro.
According to the judge, the documents of the properties are to be verified by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court, while the sureties are also to depose to an affidavit of means.
The three defendants are to deposit their travel documents with the Court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
The defendants and their sureties were also ordered to deposit their two recent passport photographs with the court.
Justice Abdulmalik ordered that Malami and his son are to remain in Kuje prison while the wife is to be taken to Suleja prison in Niger State pending when they can meet the bail conditions.
When their lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN) moved the bail applications of the defendants, to which prosecuting lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), did not object.
Earlier, the prosecution called its first witness, David Ajoma, who said he is a Compliance Officer with Sterling Bank.
Led in evidence by Okutepa, the prosecution tendered through the witness a 214-page bank statement reflecting the inflows and outflows that took place in accounts maintained by Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank.
Ajoma narrated how a series of payments running into millions of naira were made into the bank account of Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank by corporate bodies and individuals at different times.
He read out the names and identities of those who made the payments.
Under cross-examination by Daudu, Ajoma told the court that the ex-AGF did not appear in any of the transactions carried out by Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank.
He said that no payments came into the bank accounts of both firms from the Federal Ministry of Justice (FMJ), the EFCC, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), or any other agencies supervised by the FMJ when Malami was in office.
The witness read through the account statements of the Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank and their accounts opening documents and told the court that Malami’s name was not reflected and that he is not a signatory.
Ajoma, who said he is not the Relationship Manager or Officer in relation to the accounts at the bank, said Malami’s name and that of Asabe did not feature in any of the transactions.
He named Abdulaziz as the sole signatory to the account of Rayhan Hotels, which the witness said he (Abdulaziz) operated till date.
The witness added that one Aliyu Mohammed as signatory to the account owned by Metropolitan Autotech Limited in Sterling Bank.
Reading from the bank documents, the witness said an application for N500million loan facility, made to Sterling Bank, was by Abdulaziz in his capacity as the Managing Director of the Rayhan Hotels.
The witness informed the court that he did not know the purposes of several payments made into Rayhan Hotels’ bank account by those who made them
Ajoma, who said he earlier worked with Access Bank, told the court that Sterling Bank did not make any report of suspicious transactions to either the EFCC or Nigeria Finance Intelligence Unit (NFIU) because none of the transactions breached any Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rules.
Further hearing in the case has been adjourned till March 16.