Court Acquits Aliyu Abubakar and Seven Others of Charges

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has acquitted businessman Aliyu Abubakar and seven others of money laundering, criminal misappropriation, forgery, and other related offences concerning the management of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited’s funds. The court issued two separate judgments on October 15, 2026, stating that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not substantiate the allegations in the two charges, which included a total of 53 counts.

The first judgment addressed a 43-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/268/2016, where Abubakar was tried alongside Malabu Oil and six other companies. The court determined that the EFCC erred in continuing the prosecution after the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) had issued a letter in 2018 directing that the defendants should not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.

The second judgment involved a 10-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/31/2017, where Abubakar was the sole defendant. Former AGF Mohammed Adoke, initially listed as the first defendant, had been discharged earlier after the court upheld his no-case submission on April 19, 2024.