Court orders final forfeiture of 48 property linked to ex-AGF Malami

The 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 (SAN), to the Federal Government.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established the level of reasonable suspicion required by law to justify the permanent forfeiture of the assets.

The judge held that Malami, members of his family and companies associated with the properties failed to rebut the EFCC’s allegation that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

Before delivering the substantive judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit.

She emphasized that the central issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.

“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” Justice Abdulmalik held.

The judge further stated that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”

Relying on the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the court granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.

However, Justice Abdulmalik discharged the interim forfeiture order in respect of some of the properties.

The EFCC had, in January, commenced civil forfeiture proceedings seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at approximately ₦212.8 billion, alleging that they were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former Attorney General.

On January 16, Justice Emeka Nwite, sitting as a vacation judge, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to appear before the court and show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.

The affected properties are located across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.

Following the publication, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the assets challenged the interim forfeiture order.

They argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and contended that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and the alleged unlawful activities.

The respondents also maintained that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence, insisting that it neither proved the properties were proceeds of crime nor identified any specific criminal offence from which they were allegedly derived.

After the court resumed from its annual vacation, the matter was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik for hearing and determination.

During proceedings, counsel for the EFCC argued that investigations revealed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and were held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.

The commission further submitted that under Nigeria’s civil forfeiture regime, it was only required to establish reasonable suspicion, rather than prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.

After both parties adopted their final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment.

Although judgment was initially scheduled for July 6, it was deferred twice before Justice Abdulmalik delivered the final ruling on Wednesday, ordering the permanent forfeiture of 48 of the disputed properties to the Federal Government.