Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Ex-AGF Malami
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former AGF Abubakar Malami, ruling that respondents failed to disprove their acquisition through unlawful activities. The EFCC had initiated proceedings, alleging the properties were proceeds of illicit funds, with Malami and his family having filed objections that were ultimately dismissed.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties alleged to be linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. Delivering judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that Malami, his family members, and associated companies failed to provide sufficient evidence to dispel the reasonable suspicion that the assets were acquired through unlawful means.
The court dismissed several applications challenging the interim forfeiture order, stressing that the key issue was the lawful source of the funds used to acquire the properties, not merely their ownership.
The case originated from civil forfeiture proceedings filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in January 2026, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi, and Kaduna states.
An interim forfeiture order was granted on January 16, 2026, with interested parties invited to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government. Malami, his wife Nana Hadiza Malami, his son Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies subsequently challenged the order, insisting the properties were lawfully acquired.
However, the EFCC maintained that its investigations traced the assets to proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly held through proxies on Malami's behalf. Relying on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the respondents failed to rebut the commission's case based on reasonable suspicion, leading to the final forfeiture of 48 properties, although the interim forfeiture order was vacated for some of the assets. The ruling marks a significant development in one of Nigeria's most high-profile asset recovery cases in recent years.