The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties, including a university, linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the Federal Government after ruling that the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully established that the properties were acquired with funds reasonably suspected to have originated from unlawful activities.
The judge ruled that Malami failed to demonstrate that the assets were lawfully acquired, stressing that the central issue before the court was not ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them. She held that Malami, his family members and companies linked to the properties failed to displace the reasonable suspicion raised by the EFCC that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Before delivering the substantive judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza, his son, Abdulaziz, and companies linked to the properties, describing the applications as lacking merit.
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 48 properties to the Federal Government.
However, the court declined to order the forfeiture of nine other properties located in Kebbi and Kaduna states, ruling that the EFCC failed to establish that those assets were acquired through unlawful activities. Consequently, Justice Abdulmalik vacated the interim forfeiture order earlier placed on the nine properties.
The judgment marks the climax of a high-profile forfeiture case instituted by the EFCC, which had sought the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties linked to the former justice minister and valued at N212.8 billion, alleging that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The anti-graft agency had initially secured an interim forfeiture order on January 16 from Justice Emeka Nwite after an ex parte application filed by its counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ekele Iheanacho.
Following the publication of the interim order, Malami, his wife Nana Hadiza, his son Abdulaziz and several companies associated with the properties challenged the application, insisting that the assets were lawfully acquired. They urged the court to set aside the interim forfeiture order, arguing that the EFCC failed to establish any nexus between the properties and any unlawful activity.
Justice Abdulmalik, however, rejected their objections and upheld the EFCC’s case, ordering the permanent forfeiture of 48 of the 57 properties to the Nigerian Government while excluding the remaining nine for lack of sufficient proof.