Malami’s trial: How millions of Naira were laundered, Witness tells Court

Munawwarah Salisu Anas, the 5th prosecution witness (PW5) in the ongoing trial of a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday, detailed how several high-value transactions passed through the account of Alkausar Farm. Anas, a Compliance Officer with Jaiz Bank Plc, who gave the details during the former Minister’s trial […]

Munawwarah Salisu Anas, the 5th prosecution witness (PW5) in the ongoing trial of a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday, detailed how several high-value transactions passed through the account of Alkausar Farm.

Anas, a Compliance Officer with Jaiz Bank Plc, who gave the details during the former Minister’s trial before the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, said some transactions were done with Alkausar Farm’s account, one of the entities linked to the alleged N8.7 billion money laundering case involving Malami.

Daily Trust reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the trio of Malami; his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami on a 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities.

The fund, according to the anti-graft agency in its charge sheet, was to the tune of N8.7bn (N8,713,923,759.49) contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the court that the matter was slated for continuation of trial and called Anas to testify.

Led in evidence by Okutepa, the witness told the court that as a compliance officer with Jaiz Bank, her responsibilities include interfacing with law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC.

When asked whether she received any correspondence from the EFCC in the course of her duties, she answered in the affirmative and identified a letter from the Commission requesting account-related documents.

According to her, the bank responded through a letter dated February 4, 2026, addressed to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC.

Okutepa, thereafter, sought to tender the bank’s response and accompanying documents as evidence.

But the defence counsel, Adedayo Adedeji, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, reserved his objection until the final written address.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibit E Series.

Explaining the contents of the exhibit, the witness stated, “Page one is the forwarding letter, page two is the certificate of identification, pages three to twenty-five are the account opening documents, while pages twenty-six to thirty are the statement of account of Alkausar Farm.”

While reviewing the account statement before the court, Anas identified several inflows and outflows in the account.

She testified that on June 13, 2018, the account received a cash deposit of N1 million from Hassan Aliyu, while on June 20, 2018, it received another cash deposit of N2.25 million from Aliyu Mohammed.

The witness further told the court that on December 7, 2018, the account received multiple inflows from Kalamu Wahid Global Concept, including transfers of N10 million each on four occasions and an additional transfer of N8 million on the same day.

She also disclosed that on December 18, 2018, the account recorded a debit transfer of N45.5 million to Donaliv Global Nigeria Limited.

Continuing her testimony, Anas stated that the account received N26.25 million from Al-Afiya Energy Limited on July 13, 2020, and another N26.25 million from the same company on July 22, 2020.

She further revealed that on July 24, 2020, the account recorded a transfer debit of N50 million to Sahad Stores Limited and another transfer debit of N1 million to Alfagai Jewelry Nigeria Limited.

The witness also testified that on August 12, 2020, the account received a transfer credit of N2.03 million, adding that on the same day, a cheque withdrawal of N2.03 million was made by one Aliyu Mohammed Hassan.

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, the witness confirmed that she did not appear before the court pursuant to a subpoena.

When asked whether she knew the purpose of the inflows and outflows reflected in the account statement, she responded, “Yes, we know because we monitor and report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) if the transactions are suspicious.”

Following the conclusion of cross-examination and in the absence of any re-examination, the witness was discharged.

Thereafter, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter till July 17, 2026, for continuation of trial.