The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has firmly denied claims that a court order directing the release of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has been served on the Commission.
Lead counsel to the EFCC, Chief Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN, made this clarification on Wednesday, December 25, 2025, following widespread reports suggesting that Malami had been granted bail in the ongoing ₦8.7 billion alleged money-laundering case.
In a statement issued via his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Okutepa stated that neither the EFCC nor his law firm had received any court order granting Malami bail. He described the circulating claims as misleading and unsupported by due process.
According to Okutepa, he had received numerous calls from colleagues and members of the public questioning why the EFCC had not complied with an alleged ex-parte order said to have been made on December 23, 2025.
He explained that the claims originated from a press statement reportedly issued by an aide to Malami, accusing the EFCC of unlawfully detaining the former minister in defiance of a court order.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I state categorically and on my honour that as at the time of this statement, no court order granting bail to Abubakar Malami, SAN, has been served on the EFCC or my law firm,” Okutepa said.
He further expressed concern that the alleged bail order was said to have been granted ex parte, without notice to the EFCC, describing such a scenario as “bizarre and legally untenable” in a criminal matter.
According to him, granting bail ex parte to a criminal defendant without hearing from the detaining authority would amount to a gross abuse of court process, particularly where valid and subsisting orders already exist.
Okutepa recalled that on December 10, 2025, Justice S. C. Oriji of the FCT High Court ordered that Malami be remanded in EFCC custody for 14 days to enable the conclusion of investigations.
He noted that the remand order was duly served on Malami and his legal team and remains in force.
Despite the subsisting order, Okutepa disclosed that Malami’s legal team subsequently filed a fresh bail application before the FCT High Court sitting in Nyanya, alleging unlawful detention.
He said the EFCC opposed the application, and Justice Babaginda Hassan, in a ruling delivered on December 18, 2025, dismissed the application after finding that Malami’s detention was pursuant to a valid court order.
“The orders made by Justices Oriji and Hassan on December 10 and December 18, 2025, respectively, are still extant and have not been set aside,” Okutepa emphasised.
He expressed surprise that, despite being fully aware of these existing orders, Malami’s legal team could allegedly approach another court with an ex-parte application and that such an application could purportedly be granted without regard to earlier rulings.
Okutepa said his intervention was necessary to prevent the public from being misinformed and to reaffirm that the EFCC has acted strictly within the confines of the law.
“Abubakar Malami, SAN, is being lawfully detained pursuant to valid and subsisting court orders,” he stated.
The clarification follows claims by Malami’s media aide, Mohammed Doka, that the former AGF had been granted bail by a Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has reportedly filed 16 fresh charges against Malami in relation to the alleged financial crimes.
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