Psalm 39 vs 6: Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties 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, to the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established the reasonable suspicion required by law to justify the forfeiture of the assets. The court ruled that Malami, his family members and companies associated with the properties failed to disprove the commission’s allegation that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications and motions filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit. She stressed that the central issue before the court was not 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,” the judge stated, adding that the respondents had failed to dislodge the reasonable suspicion that the assets were acquired through unlawful activities.
Relying on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the court granted the EFCC’s application for final forfeiture of the 48 properties. However, Justice Abdulmalik discharged the interim forfeiture order in respect of some of the assets.
The EFCC had in January instituted civil forfeiture proceedings, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion, alleging they were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF. On January 16, Justice Emeka Nwite granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the commission to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow interested parties to challenge the action.
The affected properties are located across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna States. Following the publication of the interim order, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the assets opposed the forfeiture, insisting the properties were lawfully acquired.
They argued that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and alleged unlawful activities, maintaining that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence and did not identify any specific criminal offence from which the properties were allegedly derived.
After the court resumed from its annual vacation, the case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik. During the hearing, the EFCC maintained that investigations showed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami. The commission also argued that under civil forfeiture proceedings, it only needed to establish reasonable suspicion rather than prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Following the adoption of final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment. The ruling, initially scheduled for July 6 and later deferred twice, was eventually delivered on Wednesday, ordering the permanent forfeiture of 48 of the disputed properties to the Federal Government.