Breaking: Court Takes Fresh Action as Malami Dilemma Amid El-Rufai's Detention
The Federal High Court in Abuja has announced the adjournment of the terrorism charges against the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and his son, Abdulaziz, till March 10, 2026.
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The development came after an application by Rotimi Oyedepo, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, who sought more time to allow the prosecution to properly study the case file.
Source: Twitter
Oyedepo told the court that the case was recently transferred from the Department of State Services to the Department of Public Prosecutions, which means that he needs to familiarise himself with the facts of the matter.
Malami's lawyer, Adedayo Adedeji, however, did not oppose the application for the adjournment. He urged the court to dismiss the case if the prosecution could not commence trial on the next adjournment date, saying the applicant did not have diligence.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the trial court then adjourned the case till March 10 and ordered that the prosecuting lawyer should open its case on the same day while delivering his judgment on the application.
Malami, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is facing the trial amid the dilemma confronting Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna state and a chieftain of the ADC. He is currently in the detention of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
El-Rufai, who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside Malami for the ADC, after he was denied a ministerial slot through Senate screening, reported to the office of the EFCC on his return to Nigeria. He was then arrested by the ICPC after being released by the EFCC and has been in the custody of the anti-graft agency.
Analyst speaks on rejection of El-Rufai as minister
Oladotun Hassan, a legal practitioner and political analyst, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, associated the rejection of El-Rufai's ministerial nomination to his actions and comments when he was in office as the governor of Kaduna state.
His statement reads:
"The failure of El-Rufai to pass the security test (during senate screening for his ministerial position) may be because of the majority of what he did as governor of Kaduna State, where we had killings in the southern Kaduna in a greater number, his utterances that foreign election observers will be taken away with body bags. Those threats are still there. So, at various points in time, El-Rufai has raised a lot of overbloated ego. So, this is affecting his person."
Source: Legit.ng
