A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted businessman Aliyu Abubakar and seven others in two cases involving funds belonging to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.
Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the judgments on Thursday, October 15, 2026, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to prove the 53 counts of alleged money laundering, criminal misappropriation, forgery and other offences.
The first case, FHC/ABJ/CR/268/2016, comprised 43 counts against Abubakar, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and six other companies.
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Justice Ekwo faulted the EFCC for proceeding with the prosecution despite a 2018 letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation advising against prosecution over insufficient evidence.
The second case, FHC/ABJ/CR/31/2017, contained 10 counts and continued against Abubakar alone after former Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke was acquitted on April 19, 2024, following the court’s upholding of his no-case submission.
Adoke had earlier been acquitted by an FCT High Court on March 28, 2024, in a separate case linked to the controversial Oil Prospecting Licence 245 transaction.
The latest rulings conclude the two prosecutions against Abubakar and the other defendants.