A compliance officer with Sterling Bank, David Ajoma, on Friday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, was not involved in transactions carried out by Rayhan Hotels and Metropolitan Autotech Limited through their accounts with the bank.

Ajoma, who appeared as the first prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said Malami neither operated the accounts nor appeared as a signatory in the account-opening documents of the two companies.

Testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the witness also stated that no payments were made into the companies’ accounts from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the EFCC, the National Human Rights Commission, or any government agency overseen by Malami during his tenure as attorney general.

Ajoma tendered a 214-page record of transactions showing inflows and outflows from the companies’ accounts, which the court admitted as evidence marked “Exhibit A Series.” He said the transactions involved payments from various individuals and corporate entities at different times.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Joseph Daudu, the witness maintained that Malami’s name and that of his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, did not appear in any of the transactions or account documents.

He told the court that Malami’s son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, was the sole signatory to the Rayhan Hotels account, while one Aliyu Mohammed served as signatory to the Metropolitan Autotech Limited account.

Ajoma also disclosed that Abdulaziz applied for a N500 million loan facility from Sterling Bank in his capacity as managing director of Rayhan Hotels. However, he said he could not determine the purpose of several payments made into the company’s account.

The witness further stated that the bank did not report any of the transactions as suspicious to the EFCC or the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit because none violated the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Malami, his son, and his wife are facing a 16-count charge of alleged money laundering involving about N8.7 billion. The EFCC alleges the funds were used to acquire luxury properties in Abuja and other locations between 2015 and 2025. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case to March 16 for a witness from Union Bank of Nigeria to testify.