The federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commenced legal action against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Also the federal government pressed charges against his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over alleged money laundering involving more than ₦1.014 billion.
This, however, marks a significant escalation in the administration’s anti-corruption drive, Vanguard reported.
The charges, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, also list a third defendant, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and stem from alleged financial transactions traced to a commercial bank and linked to multiple property acquisitions and corporate dealings.
According to court documents, the Federal Government has filed a 16-count charge accusing the defendants of laundering and concealing ₦1,014,848,500 allegedly derived from unlawful activities.
Prosecutors allege that between July 2022 and June 2025, within Abuja, the defendants procured a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to disguise the origin and movement of the funds.
The charge states that the alleged acts contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and earlier money laundering laws, with penalties attached under the relevant sections.
In one of the charges, the government alleges that Mr Malami and his son knowingly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited as a front to conceal the unlawful origin of the funds lodged in a Sterling Bank account, Channels Telvesion reported.
Prosecutors argue that the defendants “reasonably ought to have known” that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activities, an allegation which, if proven, amounts to money laundering under Nigerian law.
Several of the charges detail alleged payments for high-value properties in Abuja, Kano, and Kebbi State, including luxury duplexes in Maitama, properties in Asokoro and Gwarimpa, and hotel developments linked to corporate entities.
The government further alleges that some of the funds were retained as cash collateral for bank loans and that others were channelled through hotel and property companies to obscure their source.
The charge sheet also accuses the defendants of conspiring at various times between 2015 and 2024 to indirectly acquire landed properties using proceeds of unlawful activities.
