Abubakar Malami
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 (SAN), to the Federal Government after finding that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
The development was disclosed on Wednesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement published on its official X account, following the court’s ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The ruling comes months after, in early January, the same court granted an interim forfeiture order over 57 properties valued at N213.2 billion allegedly linked to Malami and two of his sons, pending the conclusion of forfeiture proceedings.
The EFCC said it has now secured a final forfeiture order covering 48 of the disputed properties, describing the judgment as a significant milestone in its efforts to recover assets believed to have been acquired through illicit means.
According to the anti-graft agency, Justice Abdulmalik held that the Commission had successfully demonstrated that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and that there was no evidence they were acquired through legitimate sources of income.
The forfeiture order comes against the backdrop of Malami’s ongoing N8.7 billion money laundering trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
As part of the bail conditions, Justice Emeka Nwite directed that the defendants provide sureties who own verifiable properties in Maitama or other parts of the Federal Capital Territory. The court also ordered them to surrender their international passports and barred them from travelling outside Nigeria without prior judicial approval.
Malami, his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, are standing trial in a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving several billions of naira.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, the EFCC accused the defendants of conspiring to conceal, disguise and retain proceeds of alleged unlawful activities in violation of the Money Laundering Act.
According to the EFCC, the assets identified in that count alone are valued at about N415 million.
To prove its case, the Commission has indicated that it will rely on testimony from about 10 categories of witnesses, including officials from Zenth Bank Plc, Bureau de Change operators and EFCC investigators who handled the probe that culminated in the filing of the charge
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