The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court has rejected an application by Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, seeking bail from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a ruling on Thursday, Babangida Hassan, the presiding judge, said Malami’s detention was lawful and backed by a valid court order.
Malami, a senior advocate of Nigeria, had approached the court through his counsel, Sulaiman Hassan, arguing that his continued detention by the EFCC in the course of an ongoing investigation was illegal and violated his constitutional right to personal liberty.
The EFCC, however, countered the application, insisting that Malami was being held pursuant to a remand order lawfully obtained from another FCT high court.
J.S. Okutepa, counsel to the EFCC, told the court that the order was issued by S.C. Oriji in accordance with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Okutepa said the commission had acted within the bounds of the law and would not detain any suspect beyond the period authorised by the court.
In his decision, the judge agreed with the EFCC’s position, noting that both the constitution and the ACJA recognise detention based on a valid remand order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The judge ruled that the application before him was procedurally flawed, as it effectively invited the court to review or overturn an order made by another court of equal standing.
“Granting this application would amount to this court sitting as an appellate court over the decision of a court of coordinate jurisdiction,” Hassan held, adding that such a step was outside the powers of the court.
Malami is being probed for 18 alleged offences, including money laundering, abuse of office, and terrorism financing.
