A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has granted interim bail to the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Malami had been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his arrest in connection with alleged financial improprieties.
These include suspicious transactions involving the $16.9 million legal fees linked to the recovery of the Sani Abacha loot and the management of 46 bank accounts allegedly traced to him.
Justice Bello Kawu granted the order on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, following a motion filed by Malami’s legal team.
The judge ruled that the application merited consideration on the grounds of exceptional hardship, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion on notice.
The court ordered Malami’s release on the same terms previously set by the EFCC. These conditions include the surrender of his international passport and the execution of bail bonds by two sureties.
The sureties named in the order are the Director-General of the Nigerian Legal Aid Council and a serving member of the House of Representatives representing the Augie/Argungu Federal Constituency.
The court further noted that Malami had already complied with several of the bail conditions initially imposed on November 28, 2025, and directed that those fulfilled conditions be reviewed and reactivated.
This ruling follows a separate decision on December 18, 2025, where the court had affirmed the legality of his initial remand but allowed for the reactivation of his bail path.
Malami, who served as the chief law officer under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, has maintained that the investigation is a product of political vendetta—a claim the EFCC has dismissed as baseless.
Justice Kawu adjourned the matter to January 5, 2026, for the hearing of the substantive motion on notice.