BREAKING: Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Over 40 Properties Linked To Malami

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of more than 40 properties linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) application to forefeit the properry, after holding that the Malami failed to convince the court that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.

Before delivering the substantive judgment, the judge dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Malami, his family members and some companies linked to the properties, describing them as “wanting in merit.”

She held that the issue before the court was not “who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties.”

According to the judge, the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”

Justice Abdulmalik relied principally on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in granting the final forfeiture order.

However, she vacated the interim forfeiture order in respect of some properties.

The EFCC had instituted the civil forfeiture proceedings in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, which it alleged were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

On 16 January, during the Federal High Court’s annual vacation, vacation judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, granted an interim forfeiture order over the properties.

He also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper for anyone with an interest in the assets to appear before the court and show cause why they should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government. The properties are located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna States.

Following the publication, Mr Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the properties filed objections. They urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application and set aside the interim forfeiture order, arguing that it was wrongly granted.