A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of more than 40 properties linked to former Attorney -General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the judgment on Wednesday after ruling that the affected parties failed to disprove the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) claim that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.
The judge dismissed all applications and objections filed by Malami, his family members and companies linked to the assets, describing them as lacking merit.
According to the court, the key issue was not who owned the properties but whether the funds used to acquire them were legitimate. Justice Abdulmalik held that the respondents failed to rebut the EFCC’s “reasonable suspicion” that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act to grant the final forfeiture order. However, it lifted the interim forfeiture order on some of the properties.
The EFCC had filed the civil forfeiture suit in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about N212.8 billion.
The commission alleged that the assets, located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states, were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.
Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies challenged the interim forfeiture order, insisting that the properties were lawfully acquired and that the EFCC failed to link them to any criminal offence.
The EFCC argued that under the law, it only needed to establish reasonable suspicion rather than prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
After considering the arguments from both sides, Justice Abdulmalik ruled in favour of the anti-graft agency and ordered the final forfeiture of the affected properties to the Federal Government.
