Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Former AGF Abubakar 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 under the law to justify the forfeiture of the assets.

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

Before delivering the judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications, motions, and notices filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit.

She clarified that the central issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but whether the funds used to acquire them were legitimate.

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

Justice Abdulmalik further held that the respondents had failed to dispel the commission’s reasonable suspicion that the properties were proceeds of 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 the final forfeiture of the assets.

However, the court discharged the interim forfeiture order on some of the properties that were initially listed in the case.

 The EFCC had, in January 2026, filed a civil forfeiture suit seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, alleging that they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF.

On January 16, vacation judge Justice Emeka Nwite 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 assets should not be permanently forfeited.

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

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

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

The respondents also contended that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence and neither proved that the assets 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 the proceedings, counsel for the EFCC argued that investigations revealed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies allegedly acting as fronts for Malami.

The commission further submitted that under Nigeria’s civil forfeiture laws, it only needed to establish reasonable suspicion, not prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

After both parties adopted their final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment. The ruling, initially scheduled for July 6, was postponed twice before Justice Abdulmalik delivered the final judgment on Wednesda

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