By Trendsetter Tribune 
Ex–Attorney General Abubakar Malami and his son Abdulaziz plead not guilty after being arraigned in Abuja on terrorism financing and illegal firearms charges. Court orders DSS remand pending formal bail application.
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, along with his son Abdulaziz Malami, has been arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on multiple charges linked to terrorism financing and unlawful possession of firearms.
The arraignment took place on Tuesday, where both defendants were brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to answer to a five-count federal charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Prosecuting counsel Callistus Eze informed the court that the charges, dated February 2 and filed on February 3, accuse the former AGF of knowingly abetting terrorism financing in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. In one of the central allegations, Malami is accused of refusing to prosecute suspected terrorism financiers whose case files reportedly reached his office in November 2022.
Additional counts accuse Malami and his son of conduct preparatory to committing acts of terrorism, as well as possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a licence. Prosecutors allege that in December 2025, the two were found with a Sturm Magnum firearm, 16 live rounds, and 27 expended rounds at their residence in Birnin Kebbi’s Gesse Phase II area.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following the plea, the prosecution asked the court to remand the pair in DSS custody and requested a date for trial. Defense counsel Shuiabu Arua, SAN, attempted to make an oral bail application, arguing that his clients had already spent two weeks in DSS custody and arrived in court directly from the hospital. However, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that bail requests must be made formally and in writing.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case to February 20 for the commencement of trial. Until then, Malami and his son will remain in DSS custody pending the court’s decision on their bail application.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/63/2026, represents one of the most high-profile terrorism-related prosecutions involving a former top government official under the Terrorism Prevention Act.