The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of Sani Malumfashi, the chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), and two others at the Kuje Correctional Centre over alleged N1 billion in money laundering.
Justice James Omotosho made the order after Malumfashi and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to a six-count charge brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The judge ruled that the defendants should remain in custody pending the hearing and determination of their formal bail application and adjourned the matter to January 27 for consideration of the application.
The co-defendants are Anas Muhammed Mustapha, the secretary of KANSIEC, and Ado Garba, a deputy director in the commission’s Accounts Department.
According to the charge dated November 28, 2025, and filed on December 1, 2025, by ICPC counsel Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the defendants allegedly siphoned N450 million, N310 million and N260 million between November and December 2024.
The ICPC alleged that Malumfashi, Mustapha and Garba conspired during the period to take possession of N450 million through SLM Agro Global Farm accounts numbered 0018222634 and 0015932143 with Jaiz Bank on November 1, 2024. The funds were alleged to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
The offences are contrary to Sections 2(1)(b) and 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
At the arraignment, the prosecution applied for the charges to be read to the defendants, a request to which defence counsel, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, did not object. The defendants pleaded not guilty to all six counts.
The prosecution thereafter applied for a trial date, while the defence sought leave to move an oral application for bail. Magaji said his clients had complied with the conditions of the administrative bail earlier granted by the ICPC.
He requested that, if the oral application was not granted, the court should allow time to file a formal bail application. The prosecution said it would leave the matter to the discretion of the court.
Justice Omotosho held that the bail application must be formally filed to enable the prosecution respond and adjourned the case to January 28 for the hearing of the bail application.
The defendants were earlier scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik in 2025, but the case was struck out due to the ICPC’s failure to serve them with court processes.
