Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami, be remanded at Kuje prison in Abuja.

The former AGF is to remain in Kuje Correctional Centre until January 2, 2026, when his written bail application will be argued by his legal team and decided upon by the court.

The oral bail request made yesterday by Malami’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, was turned down by Justice Nwite on the grounds that it would amount to an ambush on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that had put Malami on trial.

Justice Nwite said that since a written bail application was filed and served on EFCC on Monday evening, the interest of justice would be met by allowing the EFCC to respond to the application as required by law.

According to the judge, since the written application has not been withdrawn and has not yet been responded to by the EFCC, the oral bail request would have to give way.

Specifically, Justice Nwite said the interest of justice would not be met if EFCC was not allowed to respond as required by law, as doing so would amount to a denial of fair hearing for the anti-graft agency. Earlier at the formal arraignment, Malami had denied the N12 billion money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC.

The former AGF and his co-defendants in the 16-count charges pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them before Justice Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, Hajia Asabe Bashir, were accused of conspiracy and concealment of proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to billions of naira.

The defendants were alleged to have committed various offences between November 2015 and June 2025. Malami, who was the Minister of Justice under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has been in the custody of the anti-graft agency since December 8.