A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final 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 gave the ruling on Wednesday after holding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established reasonable grounds to believe the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The judge ruled that Malami, members of his family and companies associated with the properties failed to provide sufficient evidence to counter the EFCC’s allegations.
Justice Abdulmalik also dismissed the applications and motions filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit.
She maintained that the case was not about ownership of the assets but the legality of the funds used to purchase them.
“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” she said.
The judge added that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”
The court subsequently granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the 48 properties under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, although it lifted the interim forfeiture order on some of the remaining properties.
The EFCC had earlier sought the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at ₦212.8 billion, alleging they were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF.
