Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday raised serious concerns over alleged attempts by unidentified individuals to approach him privately in a bid to influence his decisions in the ongoing N8.7 billion money laundering trial involving former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz.
Delivering a stern warning in open court shortly after granting bail to the defendants, Justice Nwite stated: “Before concluding, I want to admonish and warn counsel and litigants that all judges are not the same. When I am handling any case, please don’t approach me. When you are doing your case, you can get the best lawyers in this country to handle it, but don’t attempt to approach me for any help. I am not that type of judge.”
The judge emphasised his commitment to impartiality, adding: “I know what God has done for me by giving me this job and I have vowed to do it to the best of my ability. I have sworn before Almighty God and man that I am going to do my duty without fear or favour.” He warned that any attempt to pervert justice would be “vehemently resisted” and advised parties to challenge his rulings through appeals rather than improper approaches.
Notably, Justice Nwite did not name any specific lawyers or parties from either the defence or prosecution sides alleged to have made such approaches.
Meanwhile, lawyers on social media have expressed outrage over the judge’s allegation, with calls emerging for petitions to be filed against the unidentified solicitors with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to investigate and sanction those involved in the alleged solicitation of favour.
TheNigeriaLawyer understands that Malami’s defence team is led by Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN), while the prosecuting EFCC counsel is led by Jibrin Samuel Okutepa (SAN). However, the judge did not mention the names of the lawyers allegedly involved in soliciting him for compromise.
In a related comment, PDP members have alleged that similar approaches have occurred in other high-profile cases, including PDP-related matters involving some of the same senior advocates, though no names were mentioned.
The matter has been adjourned to February 17, 2026, for the commencement of trial, following the grant of N500 million bail each to the defendants with stringent conditions.
