Court Adjourns Abubakar Malami’s Alleged ₦8.7bn Money Laundering Trial Till June 23

Abubakar Malami and members of his family will have to wait until next month as the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned proceedings in the alleged ₦8.7 billion money laundering case involving the former Attorney General of the Federation.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Friday, May 22, 2026, postponed the matter until June 23, 2026, following an application for adjournment by the defence team.

The former minister is standing trial alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over allegations bordering on conspiracy, concealment, procurement and laundering of funds allegedly linked to unlawful activities.

The prosecution, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accused the defendants of laundering a total sum of ₦8,713,923,759.49 under provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the matter had been scheduled for continuation of trial proceedings but that the defence had written to seek another adjournment.

According to Okutepa, the prosecution initially intended to oppose the request but later decided against doing so in order not to delay the proceedings unnecessarily.

“This matter is slated today for continuation of hearing. We were served with a letter addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar of this court on the 20th of May, 2026 by the law firm of J.B. Daudu and Co. We wanted to oppose the application but we don’t want to stall the proceedings,” he told the court.

The senior advocate, however, urged the court to take note of the number of adjournments already requested by the defence team.

“We are not opposing but we want my lord to note that the defendants have applied for adjournment once, meaning they have four adjournments left,” he added.

In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the prosecution that the absence of the lead defence counsel should ordinarily not halt proceedings, especially considering the number of lawyers available within the defence chamber.

“I do concur with you, learned senior counsel, that the defence counsel indeed has so many lawyers in his chambers,” the judge stated.

“There is no reason to stall proceedings today. Be that as it may, since they have room for five adjournments, we will grant them this one.”

Following the ruling, the court adjourned the matter till June 23, 2026, for continuation of hearing in the high-profile corruption case.

The trial remains one of the notable anti-corruption cases currently before the court, attracting public attention due to Malami’s former role as Nigeria’s chief law officer under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.