The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the N8.7 billion money laundering trial of the former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, to June 23, 2026.

The trio is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing, and laundering the proceeds of unlawful activities to the tune of ₦8,713,923,759.49, an offence said to contravene the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

At the resumed sitting on Friday, May 22, 2026, the prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that while the matter was scheduled for the continuation of the hearing, the prosecution had been served an adjournment letter dated May 20, 2026, by the defence law firm, J.B. Daudu and Co.

Although Okutepa expressed a desire to oppose the application to prevent stalling the case, he ultimately refrained from doing so. However, he urged the trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, to note the number of remaining statutory adjournments available to the defence, pointing out that the defendants had now officially used one of their five legally permitted adjournment requests.

Concurring with the prosecution’s submission, Justice Abdulmalik noted that the absence of a lead defence counsel should not ordinarily ground proceedings to a halt, especially given the size and capacity of the defending chamber. She subsequently granted the application and shifted the continuation of the trial to June 23.

The adjournment follows previous high-profile testimonies from compliance officers of major financial institutions, who presented several banking exhibits and detailed transactional paths running into billions of naira linked to corporate entities associated with the defendants, including Rayhaan Hotels Limited and Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.