A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the Federal Government.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the judgement on Wednesday after granting an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court held that the respondents failed to rebut the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.
Before delivering the judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications and motions filed by Malami, members of his family, and companies linked to the assets, describing them as “wanting in merit.”
However, Malami’s spokesperson, Mohammed Bello Doka, told Trust TV on Wednesday night that the former AGF would appeal the decision.
The EFCC had, in January 2026, filed a civil action seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion, alleging they were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to Malami.
On January 16, a vacation judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Emeka Nwite, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish it in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
The affected properties are spread across the Federal Capital Territory, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states. They include university buildings, hotels, schools, filling stations, commercial buildings, an agro-allied factory, pharmacies, supermarkets, residential properties and large parcels of land.
In her judgement, Justice Abdulmalik said the central issue before the court was not ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.
The judge held that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities” and relied principally on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in granting the final forfeiture order.
She also vacated the interim forfeiture order in respect of some properties before ordering their final forfeiture to the Federal Government.
Following the publication of the interim forfeiture order, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the properties challenged the EFCC’s application.
They argued that the assets were lawfully acquired and that the commission failed to establish any link between the properties and unlawful activities.
They also maintained that the EFCC relied on speculation rather than credible evidence and neither proved that the properties were proceeds of crime nor identified any specific criminal offence from which they were derived.
The EFCC, however, insisted that its investigation showed the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for the former AGF.
The commission argued that the law only required it to establish “reasonable suspicion” and not prove its case “beyond reasonable doubt.”
Both parties adopted their final written addresses in May, after which Justice Abdulmalik reserved judgement. The ruling, initially scheduled for July 6 and later July 10, was eventually delivered on Wednesday.
The judgement is one of the largest asset forfeiture orders secured by the EFCC in recent years in terms of the number of properties involved.
Other notable forfeiture cases include assets linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, former NNPC Gas and Power Investment Company Managing Director Salihu Nuhu Jamari, and retired Air Vice Marshal Saliu Atawodi.
While the Malami case involves the highest number of properties, the Emefiele forfeiture remains the largest in terms of estimated monetary value.
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