DSS Wants To Rearrest Me After N1.5B Bail, Malami Cries Out
DSS Wants To Rearrest Me After N1.5B Bail, Malami Cries Out
Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by security agencies to rearrest him immediately after his release on bail.
In a press statement on Wednesday, Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, said the former minister’s office had been “reliably informed” of plots to effect a fresh arrest despite a valid court order granting him bail.
He warned that such a move would undermine the rule of law and endanger his safety.
According to the statement, intelligence available to Malami’s team indicates that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have mounted surveillance around the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja and are on standby to rearrest him on what were described as “trumped-up and unrelated charges” once he regains his freedom.
“This development is deeply troubling and raises grave concerns about due process, the rule of law, and personal safety,” the statement said, adding that the pattern of granting bail only for fresh arrests to follow amounts to an abuse of state power and a direct affront to judicial authority.
Malami’s camp recalled that a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory had earlier granted him bail in a related matter, but alleged that the order was frustrated when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to effect his release.
“We therefore place it clearly on record that the safety of Abubakar Malami, SAN, his family, and his staff is under serious threat,” Doka said, warning that any unlawful detention, intimidation or harm would be fully laid at the doorstep of those responsible.
The statement called on relevant authorities, the legal community, civil society groups and the international community to monitor developments closely and prevail on security agencies to act strictly within the confines of the law.
Earlier, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted Malami, his wife and son bail in the sum of N500m each over alleged money laundering charges.
Justice Nwite, who ruled on the bail application filed by their counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, ordered that each defendant provide sureties who own landed property in Abuja’s high-value districts of Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa.
The court further directed the defendants to submit their international passports and other travel documents, and barred them from leaving the country without prior approval.
The judge also ordered that the title documents of the properties presented by the sureties be verified by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, with the sureties required to depose to affidavits of means.
Malami was arraigned on December 30, 2025, alongside his wife, Bashir Asabe Malami, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering and abuse of office.
They had pleaded not guilty and were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of their bail application.
In the charge, the EFCC alleged that the trio conspired at various times between 2015 and 2025 to launder proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to over ₦8.1 billion, using bank accounts and corporate entities to conceal the source and ownership of the funds.
The commission claimed that large sums were routed through companies linked to the Malami family, including Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited and Meethaq Hotels Limited, with transactions allegedly structured to disguise their illicit origin and evade regulatory scrutiny.
According to the EFCC, between July 2022 and June 2025, Malami and his son allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to launder over N1.014bn through a Sterling Bank account, while about N600m was said to have been concealed through the same company between September 2020 and February 2021.
In another count, the anti-graft agency alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained N600m as cash collateral for a N500m loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Limited from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The EFCC further accused Malami, while serving as Attorney-General of the Federation under former President Muhammadu Buhari, of disguising the unlawful origin of N500m paid to Efab Properties Limited for the purchase of a luxury duplex in Maitama, Abuja, as well as acquiring high-value properties in Abuja, Kano and Kebbi State through proxies to conceal beneficial ownership.
The alleged offences, according to the prosecution, contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
While urging the court to order a speedy trial in view of the seriousness of the allegations, the EFCC maintained that the case involves complex financial transactions and abuse of public office.
Malami has denied all the allegations, insisting that he is ready to submit himself to all lawful judicial processes.
