Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Assets Linked to Ex-AGF Malami
A 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.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) established reasonable suspicion that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The judge ruled that Malami, his family members and companies connected to the properties failed to provide convincing evidence to disprove the EFCC’s claims regarding the source of funds used to acquire the assets.
Justice Abdulmalik dismissed the applications filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit.
She stated that the key issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but whether the funds used to acquire them were lawfully obtained.
“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.
The court held that the respondents failed to rebut the EFCC’s allegation that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities and consequently granted the commission’s application for final forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
However, the court lifted the interim forfeiture order on some of the properties, excluding them from the final forfeiture order.
The EFCC had in January instituted civil forfeiture proceedings against 57 properties valued at about N212.8 billion, alleging that they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former justice minister.
Justice Emeka Nwite had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on Jan. 16 and directed the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow interested parties to challenge the action.
The affected properties are located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and in Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
Following the publication, Malami, his wife Nana Hadiza Malami, his son Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami and several companies associated with the assets challenged the proceedings, insisting that the properties were lawfully acquired.
They argued that the EFCC failed to establish any link between the assets and unlawful conduct, relying instead on speculation without identifying any specific criminal offence.
After the court’s annual vacation, the case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik, who heard arguments from both parties.
The EFCC maintained that its investigation showed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and registered in the names of individuals and companies allegedly acting as fronts for Malami.
The commission also argued that civil forfeiture proceedings require proof of reasonable suspicion rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt.
After adopting their final written addresses in May, both parties awaited judgment, which was eventually delivered on Wednesday, with the court ordering the final forfeiture of 48 properties to the Federal Government.
