A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to overturn an interim order forfeiting some of his properties to the Federal Government, insisting that the assets were lawfully acquired and duly declared to relevant authorities.
Malami, who challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forfeiture order, gave a detailed breakdown of income and financial gifts.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, on January 6, granted an ex parte application by the EFCC, ordering the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to Malami and two of his sons, Abdulaziz and Abiru Rahman.
The court held that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and directed the EFCC to take temporary possession of the assets. Justice Nwite also ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper, inviting interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.
However, Malami, through his counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), in a motion on notice filed on Monday, accused the EFCC of obtaining the interim order through suppression of material facts and misrepresentation.
The former AGF urged the court to dismiss the forfeiture proceedings, warning that the action could result in “conflicting outcomes and duplicative litigation.” He further argued that the forfeiture violated his constitutional rights to property, presumption of innocence, and family life.
In the application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026 and filed on January 27, Malami specifically challenged the forfeiture of three properties listed as number 9, 18 and 48 in the EFCC’s application.
The disputed properties include Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, purchased on July 31, 2019; a bedroom duplex with boys’ quarters at No. 12, Yalinga Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, acquired in October 2018 for N150 million, and the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, reportedly purchased for N56 million.
Malami is asking the court to set aside the interim forfeiture order as it affects the three properties and to restrain the EFCC from interfering with his ownership, possession, and control of them. He also maintained that one of the properties is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
In a 14-ground argument, Daudu contended that the EFCC failed to present prima facie evidence linking the properties to any unlawful activity or specific offence. He said Malami had declared the assets listed as numbers 9 and 18 in his asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in 2019 and 2023, while property number 48 was held in trust for his late father.
“These assets, their value and their root of title have been clearly stated and specifically demonstrated in the various asset declaration forms spanning from 2019 to 2023,” Daudu said.
The senior lawyer also outlined Malami’s declared sources of income, including salaries, allowances, business earnings, asset disposals, loans, traditional gifts and proceeds from a book authored by the former AGF.
According to the application, Malami declared N374,630,900 as income from salaries, estacodes, severance allowances and related earnings, as well as sitting allowances from his membership of several boards and committees, including the Federal Judicial Service Commission and the Legal Practitioner Privileges Committee.
He also reportedly declared N574,073,000 from disposed assets; N10.017 billion as business turnover; N2.522 billion in loans to businesses; and N958 million as traditional gifts from personal friends.
Daudu further disclosed that N509,880,000 was realised from the launch and public presentation of Malami’s book titled ‘Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs’.
“These streams of income, and the continuing profits generated from the businesses over the years, sufficiently show that the properties sought to be forfeited were acquired through legitimate and lawful means,” he argued, adding that the interim order was obtained through misrepresentation and non-disclosure of material facts.
The matter could not proceed on January 27 as it was not listed on the court’s cause list. The case, which was handled during the court’s vacation, has since been returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment following the conclusion of Justice Nwite’s vacation duties.
Several lawyers were also present in court, having filed processes on behalf of clients seeking to stop the final forfeiture proceedings.
Meanwhile, Malami is facing a money laundering charge filed by the EFCC and is currently being detained at the Department of State Services (DSS) facility over a separate allegation bordering on terrorism financing.
