FG drops terrorism charge, files arms case against Malami

The Federal Government on Wednesday in Abuja withdrew the terrorism financing case against former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and his son, Abdulaziz, and replaced it with a fresh charge over alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

The case was handled in court by government lawyers led by Akinlolu Kehinde, who informed the judge of the decision to amend the earlier charge. The new case followed claims that weapons and live cartridges were discovered at Malami’s residence in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

After the amendment, Malami and his son were re-arraigned and both denied the new allegations brought against them. Their lawyer, Shuaibu Arua, did not object to the change of charges but asked the court to allow the existing bail conditions to continue.

The prosecution did not oppose this request, and the court ruled that the earlier bail granted to the defendants, along with all conditions already met, would remain valid.

The judge then fixed May 26 and June 15 for the hearing of the case.
The matter began earlier in February when the Department of State Services brought the defendants to court over claims linked to terrorism financing. The earlier accusation was based on claims that Malami failed to act on files related to suspected terrorism financiers during his time in office.

The new charge now focuses on alleged unlawful possession of firearms without proper approval. According to the case filed before the court, the weapons were said to have been kept at Malami’s residence without legal backing.

Both defendants had earlier been granted bail in the sum of N200 million each with sureties, and that decision remains in place as the case moves forward to trial.