Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Ex-AGF Malami

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government over allegations that they were acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) established sufficient legal grounds to justify the permanent forfeiture of the assets. The court ruled that Malami and other respondents failed to dispel the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired with illicit funds.

Before delivering the judgment, the court dismissed several applications, motions and objections filed by Malami, members of his family and companies linked to the disputed properties, describing them as lacking merit.

Justice Abdulmalik maintained that the central issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but whether the funds used to acquire them were legitimate. She held that the respondents failed to provide convincing evidence to establish that the assets were lawfully acquired.

Relying on the provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the court granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the 48 properties to the Federal Government. However, the judge declined to grant the forfeiture of nine other properties after finding that the anti-graft agency failed to establish sufficient evidence linking those assets to unlawful activities.

The forfeiture proceedings originated from a civil action filed by the EFCC, which sought the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly traced to Malami. The commission argued that the assets, located across the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states, were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime.

Malami had challenged the interim forfeiture order, insisting that the properties were legitimately acquired and duly declared to the appropriate authorities in line with constitutional requirements. He also argued that the EFCC failed to establish any direct link between the assets and any criminal offence.

The ruling marks a significant development in the Federal Government’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign and reinforces the judiciary’s role in asset recovery proceedings involving allegations of financial crimes. While 48 properties have now been permanently forfeited, the court declined to order the forfeiture of nine others due to insufficient evidence presented by the EFCC.

The former Attorney-General has consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintains that all his assets were lawfully acquired.