Court Adjourns Terrorism Case Against Ex-AGF Malami, Son Until March 2026

The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the alleged terrorism proceedings against a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and his son, Abdulaziz Malami, until March 10, 2026.

The trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, set the new date on Tuesday following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo. Oyedepo requested additional time to study the case file, explaining that the matter had recently been transferred from the Department of State Services (DSS) to his department.

Counsel for the defendants, Mr. Adedayo Adedeji, did not object to the adjournment request. However, he urged the court to strike out the charges if the prosecution fails to proceed on the next adjourned date, alleging a lack of diligent prosecution.

In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until March 10, 2026, for trial and directed the prosecution to open its case on that date.

The adjournment comes amid ongoing legal proceedings involving Malami and members of his family, who are also facing separate charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft agency had earlier re-arraigned Malami alongside his wife, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz, before the same court over alleged money laundering offences. Their re-arraignment followed the transfer of the case to Justice Abdulmalik after two previous judges reportedly withdrew from the matter.

At the resumed hearing on the money laundering charges, prosecution counsel Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, informed the court that the case was before the new trial judge for the first time and requested that the defendants take their pleas. Malami and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge.

Defence counsel Joseph Daudu, SAN, noted that his clients had been granted bail on January 7 by Justice Emeka Nwite and had already perfected the bail conditions. However, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the earlier proceedings were terminated following the case’s reassignment and directed that fresh bail applications be filed.

Consequently, the court ordered that Malami and his son be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while his wife was remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre, pending the hearing of their new bail applications.