The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent 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 ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established the legal threshold of reasonable suspicion required to justify the forfeiture of the assets.
The judge held that Malami, his family members and companies connected to the properties failed to rebut the EFCC’s claim that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Before delivering the judgment, 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 source 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 said.
She added that the respondents had failed to dispel the commission’s reasonable suspicion that the assets 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 affected properties.
However, Justice Abdulmalik lifted the interim forfeiture order on some of the properties, effectively excluding them from the final order.
The EFCC had in January filed civil forfeiture proceedings seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, alleging they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former attorney-general.
An interim forfeiture order was granted on January 16 by Justice Emeka Nwite, who also directed the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow interested parties to contest the action.
The properties are located across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
Following the publication, Malami, his wife Nana Hadiza Malami, his son Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the assets challenged the forfeiture proceedings.
They argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and maintained that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and alleged criminal activities.
The respondents also contended that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence and failed to identify any specific offence from which the assets were allegedly derived.
After the court resumed from its annual vacation, the case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik.
At the hearing, EFCC counsel argued that investigations showed the properties were purchased with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.
The commission further argued that civil forfeiture proceedings require proof of reasonable suspicion, rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt.
After both sides 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 Wednesday.
