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•To remain in prison custody pending perfection of bail
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Friday granted former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami Malami, his wife and son bail in the sum of N200 million pending their trial in the N8.7bn money laundering offences brought against them by the federal government.
Malami and his co- defendants are to produce two sureties each who will stand for them in the like sum.
Justice Abdulmalik, in a ruling on bail application by Malami and two others on Friday, ordered that the two sureties must have developed landed properties in Maitama or Asokoro.
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 affidavit of means.
The three defendants are to deposit their travelling documents with the Court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
Besides, the defendants and their sureties were also ordered to deposit their two recent passport photograph with me court.
The court however, ordered that
Malami and his son should be remanded in Kuje prison while his wife is to be taken to Suleja prison in Niger state pending their perfection of the bail conditions.
In the substantive trial, a Compliance Officer with Sterling Bank, David Ajoma who is the first prosecution witness (PW1) for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said that no payments came into the bank accounts of the two companies from the Federal Ministry of Justice, EFCC, National Human Rights Commission or any agency presided over by Malami as the AGF during the period.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr Jibrin Okutepa SAN, the banker tendered a 214- page bank transaction documents involving inflows and outflows carried out by the two companies through their bank accounts with Sterling Bank.
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The bank transaction document was admitted as exhibit “A Series” by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik who is presiding over the trial of Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami and and wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe in a 16-count money laundering charges involving N8. 7bn.
He narrated how series of payments involving 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.
The witness then read out names and identities of those who made the payments.
While reading through the bank statements of the Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank and the opening packages, the witness said Malami’s name was not in the account opening packages and also not as signatories to them.
He made the clarifications during cross examination by lead lawyer to the three defendants, Joseph Daudu SAN.
Apart from not being relationship manager or officer to the bank accounts, Ajoma told the judge that Malami’s name and that of his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe never featured in any of the transactions.
He named Malami’s son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami as the sole signatory to the account of Rayhan Hotels and operated it till date and one Aliyu Mohammed as signatory to Metropolitan Autotech Limited with Sterling Bank.
While quoting from the exhibit, Ajoma revealed that the application for N500 million loan facility was made to Sterling Bank by Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami 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 claimed to have earlier worked with Access Bank said that Sterling Bank did not make report of suspicious transactions to either EFCC or Nigeria Finance Intelligence Unit (NFIU) because none of the transactions breached the rules of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Meanwhile, Justice Abdulmalik has fixed March 16 for a Union Bank official to testify in the trial.
