Court Orders FG to Seize 48 Assets Linked to Former AGF Malami

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of 48 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in favour of the Federal Government.

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Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission established the legal threshold required to justify the forfeiture of the assets.

The court held that Malami, his relatives and companies connected to the properties failed to provide convincing evidence to counter the EFCC's claims that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

Justice Abdulmalik also dismissed all objections, motions and applications filed by the respondents against the forfeiture proceedings, describing them as lacking merit.

She stated that the case before the court centred on the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire the properties rather than the identity of their owners.

Consequently, the court granted the EFCC's request for a final forfeiture under the provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, while removing some of the properties earlier placed under an interim forfeiture order.

The anti-graft agency had approached the court in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about N212.8bn, alleging they were acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities traced to the former AGF.

An interim forfeiture order was initially granted by Justice Emeka Nwite, who directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow anyone with an interest in the assets to appear before the court and contest the application.

The properties involved in the case are located in the Federal Capital Territory, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.

In response, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the assets challenged the interim order, insisting that the properties were lawfully acquired.

They argued that the EFCC failed to establish any direct connection between the assets and any criminal conduct, maintaining that the commission neither identified a specific offence nor produced sufficient evidence to support its allegations.

At the hearing, however, the EFCC maintained that its investigation showed the properties were purchased with illicit funds and registered in the names of individuals and corporate entities allegedly acting on Malami's behalf.

The commission further argued that the law governing civil forfeiture only required it to establish reasonable suspicion, a position the court upheld in its judgment delivered on Wednesday after reserving its decision following the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.