A compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday that the bank filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect of transactions linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Mr Bata testified before Judge Joyce Abdulmalik as the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Mr Malami, his wife, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz Malami.
The defendants are facing 16 money laundering charges involving N8.7 billion suspected to be proceeds of crime.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused them of conspiring to conceal, disguise and retain the proceeds of alleged unlawful activities. The commission said the defendants used the disguised funds to acquire properties in Abuja, Kano and Kebbi states.
Aside from Mr Bata, three other prosecution witnesses have testified in the case since 6 April when the trial began.
According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Mr Bata began his evidence-in-chief on 20 April, when he testified on large inflows into accounts linked to the former Attorney-General and members of his family.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, defence lawyer Adedayo Adedeji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), cross-examined the defence witness.
Fielding questions under cross-examination, the witness told the court that the transactions in the accounts complied with Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines. He, however, confirmed that the bank still filed a Suspicious Transaction Report in relation to the accounts.
At the end of cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Jibrin Outepa, a SAN, proceeded to re-examine the witness and sought clarification on the meaning of a Suspicious Transaction Report.
The defence objected, arguing that the witness had already been clear in his testimony and that no ambiguity existed to warrant further explanation.
Mr Okutepa, however, urged the court to allow the question, citing on Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act, which permits re-examination to clarify issues arising from cross-examination.
The judge overruled the objection and allowed the witness to answer.
Responding to the prosecution’s question, Bata explained that any pattern of deposits or repetitive transactions considered unusual must be escalated to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), describing it as the agency responsible for analysing and disseminating financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
He also told the court that his duties as a compliance officer included receiving correspondences from law enforcement agencies. He said he was neither the account officer nor relationship manager of the accounts under investigation.
After his testimony, and with no further questions from any of the parties, the witness was discharged.
The judge thereafter adjourned the matter until 22 May for continuation of trial.
Background
The EFCC alleged that Malami and his co-defendants conspired to conceal, disguise and retain about N8.7bn in proceeds of unlawful activities between 2015 and 2025.
The prosecution said the funds were moved through multiple bank accounts, corporate entities and high-value property acquisitions.
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The defendants were first arraigned on 30 December 2025 and re-arraigned on 27 February before the current judge.
On that date, prosecution counsel Mr Okutepa applied to correct clerical errors in two counts, reducing figures from billions to millions. But Mr Malami and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty.