Proceedings continued at the Federal High Court in Abuja in the trial involving former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, his son, Abdulazeez Malami, and Asabe Bashir, as two prosecution witnesses testified on bank transactions linked to companies associated with the defendants.
When proceedings commenced, second prosecution witness, Simon Daniel, a compliance officer with Union Bank in Abuja, told the court that he serves as a regulatory liaison officer for the bank’s Abuja branches.
He explained that his responsibilities include reviewing account opening documents, authorising account closures, and handling regulatory and customer complaint investigations.
Daniel said Union Bank received a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2025 seeking the account opening documents, statement of account and certificate of compliance for Meethaq Hotels Limited.
According to him, the bank provided the requested documents to the EFCC on December 23, 2025. The documents were later admitted in evidence by the trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, as Exhibit.
Reading from the account statement, the witness told the court that transfers were made from Meethaq Hotels Limited to Abubakar Malami.
He said N14 million and N24 million were transferred on February 5 and March 4, 2024 respectively, while another N24 million was transferred on April 3, 2024 to AA Malami and Co. A further transfer of N12.5 million was made to the same account on May 3, 2024.
Daniel also testified that the sole signatory to the Meethaq Hotels Limited account is Asabe Bashir, whom he identified in court.
He further told the court that the account statement also reflected several deposits made between November 2022 and April 2023 from different individuals and companies.
Under cross-examination, defence counsel Joseph Daudu questioned the witness about his role in the bank.
Daniel said he has worked in the compliance department since joining Union Bank in August 2014 and that all account openings in the branch are subject to his review and approval.
However, he admitted that he does not know the purpose of the transactions reflected in the bank statements and could not confirm whether they were commercial in nature.
The prosecution also called a third witness, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank in Abuja.
Egoro also told the court that his bank received a request from the EFCC in 2025 for documents relating to Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Limited and Khadimiyya for Justice and Development Initiative.
He said the bank initially sent the documents electronically and later forwarded hard copies to the commission.
Testifying further, Egoro said Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Limited obtained a N400 million loan from Access Bank in October 2020, which he said was fully repaid in July 2022.
According to him, the account had Abdulaziz Malami Abubakar, identified as Malami’s son, as the sole signatory.
During cross-examination, Egoro said he is a certified anti-money laundering personnel but does not know the purpose of the deposits and does not personally know the individuals who made them.
Following the testimonies, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until April 20 for continuation of trial.
(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)
