- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Government has dropped the terrorism financing charge filed against the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and his son, Abdulaziz, in an amended suit.
Akinlolu Kehinde, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), had reportedly informed the court of the amendment and applied for the substitution of the previous charge during the hearing of the case on Wednesday.
The DSS counsel maintained that the amended charge now borders on illegal possession of firearms.
In reaction, counsel to the defendants, Shaibu Aruwa, confirmed that his clients had been duly served with the amended charge and did not oppose its substitution being read in court.
“I confirm that my clients have been served with the amended charge, and we have no objection to the fresh charge being read to the defendants,” he said.
Following the agreement of both parties, the amended charge was read to Abubakar Malami and Abdulaziz Malami in open court, after which they both pleaded not guilty.
The case was subsequently adjourned, with further proceedings expected to continue.
NPO Reported that Malami, alongside his son and wife, were arraigned to court over series of charges ranging from terrorism funding to financial misappropriation.
While the terrorism funding charge has been dropped with the DSS amending its suit to illegal possession of firearms, the ex-AGF is however still faced with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering.
The lawsuit had seen several properties linked to him forfeited pending court’s ruling over the suit.