Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Ex-AGF Malami

(Abubakar Malami. Photo by Punch News)

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

Delivering judgment in Abuja on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established the reasonable suspicion required by law to justify the forfeiture of the assets.

The judge ruled that Malami, his family members, and companies linked to the properties failed to dislodge the commission’s allegation that the assets were acquired using proceeds of unlawful activities.

Before delivering the substantive judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications, motions on notice, and applications to show cause filed by the respondents, describing them as “wanting in merit.”

She held that the issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties, but rather the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.

“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” the judge stated, adding that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”

Relying on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, Justice Abdulmalik granted the EFCC’s application for final forfeiture, though the court discharged the interim forfeiture order in respect of some of the properties.

The anti-graft agency had, in January, instituted civil forfeiture proceedings seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, alleging that they represented proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF.

On January 16, vacation judge Justice Emeka Nwite had granted an interim forfeiture order over the properties and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to enable interested persons to appear before the court and show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The properties in question are located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi, and Kaduna states.

Following the publication, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami; his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami; and several companies linked to the assets challenged the interim forfeiture order, arguing that the properties were lawfully acquired and contending that the EFCC had failed to establish any connection between the assets and the alleged unlawful activities.

The respondents further maintained that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence, and had neither proved that the properties were proceeds of crime nor identified any specific criminal offence from which they were allegedly derived.

After the court resumed from its annual vacation, the case was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik for hearing and determination.

At the hearing, counsel for the EFCC argued that investigations showed the properties were acquired using proceeds of unlawful activities and were held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.

The commission also submitted that, under the law governing civil forfeiture proceedings, it was only required to establish reasonable suspicion rather than prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

After the parties adopted their final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment.

The ruling, originally scheduled for July 6, was deferred twice before Justice Abdulmalik finally delivered it on Wednesday.