Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, requesting the reversal of an interim forfeiture order placed on three properties allegedly linked to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The disputed assets—identified as Properties No. 9, 18, and 48 in the EFCC’s ex parte application—form part of 57 properties the anti-graft agency claims were acquired through illicit means. The court had ordered their temporary forfeiture to the Federal Government on January 6, 2026.
In a motion on notice filed by Malami’s legal team, led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), the former AGF maintained that the properties were legitimately acquired and properly disclosed in his Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) asset declaration forms while he was in office.
According to Daudu, the assets—along with their respective values and sources—were clearly detailed in Malami’s asset declarations submitted between 2019 and 2023.
He further explained that Property No. 48, known as the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, valued at ₦56 million, does not belong to Malami personally but is held in trust as part of the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
Malami’s lawyers contended that the EFCC secured the interim forfeiture order by withholding crucial information and wrongly portraying the ownership status of the affected properties.
The application described the action as a violation of Malami’s constitutional rights, including his right to property, presumption of innocence, and right to private family life.
The former justice minister is therefore asking the court to grant two key reliefs:
first, an order setting aside the interim forfeiture placed on the three properties—Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Kano (No. 9); a duplex in Wuse II, Abuja (No. 18); and the ADC Foundation Building (No. 48).
Second, an order restraining the EFCC from taking any further steps or interfering with the properties in question.
Defence Insists Properties Not Linked to Any Crime
Arguing further, Malami’s defence team stated that the EFCC failed to establish any prima facie link between the properties and alleged criminal conduct, as required by law.
Daudu told the court that Properties No. 9 and 18 were duly captured in Malami’s CCB declarations for 2019 and 2023, stressing that such declarations constitute preliminary evidence of lawful ownership.
Gossip News Now reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo, sitting as a vacation judge on January 6, approved the EFCC’s ex parte request for the temporary forfeiture of the 57 properties said to be associated with Malami.
During the proceedings, EFCC counsel Ekele Iheanacho (SAN) informed the court that the assets were believed to be proceeds of suspected unlawful activities. The judge subsequently ordered the commission to publish the forfeiture notice in a national newspaper, allowing 14 days for any interested party to appear and explain why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.
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