May 14, 2026 | SUNTV Global Channel News
Fresh revelations emerged on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, as a prosecution witness disclosed that ’s bank transactions were flagged and reported as suspicious by during the ongoing N8.7billion fraud trial involving the former Attorney-General of the Federation.
The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank and the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik during cross-examination by defence counsel, Adebayo Adedeji (SAN).
The is prosecuting Malami alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering, concealment, and alleged unlawful financial transactions amounting to ₦8,713,923,759.49.
During the proceedings, defence counsel questioned the witness on whether the deposits reflected in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the .
Responding, Bata confirmed compliance with banking regulations but added that the bank still filed Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) concerning the transactions.
“Yes, we had to file Suspicious Transaction Report. We did file,” the witness told the court.
Under re-examination by prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), the witness further explained that banks are required to escalate transactions showing repetitive or suspicious patterns to the .
“Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU,” Bata stated.
The defence objected to the line of questioning, arguing that the witness’s earlier statement was already clear. However, Justice Abdulmalik overruled the objection and directed the witness to provide clarification to the court.
The witness also clarified that his role at the bank mainly involved receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies and that he was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager overseeing the accounts under investigation.
Following the completion of his testimony, both prosecution and defence counsel informed the court that they had no further questions for the witness, leading to his discharge from the witness box.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until May 22, 2026, for continuation of trial proceedings.
