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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the permanent forfeiture of 48 properties associated with former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had met the legal threshold required in civil forfeiture proceedings by establishing reasonable suspicion that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The judge ruled that neither Malami nor the other respondents, including members of his family and companies linked to the properties, provided sufficient evidence to overturn the commission’s claims regarding the source of funds used to acquire the assets.
Justice Abdulmalik also dismissed all the applications and motions filed by the respondents before proceeding to the substantive judgment, describing them as lacking merit.
Explaining the basis of her decision, the judge stated that the case was not about determining ownership of the properties but whether they were purchased with legitimate funds.
“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” she held.
According to the court, the respondents failed to rebut the legal presumption created by the EFCC’s evidence that the assets were linked to unlawful activities.
Consequently, the court granted the anti-graft agency’s application for final forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
However, Justice Abdulmalik lifted the interim forfeiture order earlier placed on some of the properties.
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The EFCC had approached the court in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about N212.8 billion, alleging they represented proceeds of unlawful activities connected to the former Attorney General.
An interim forfeiture order was granted on January 16 by Justice Emeka Nwite, who directed the commission to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to challenge the application before a final decision was taken.
The properties involved in the proceedings are spread across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as well as Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
Following the publication, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies named in the suit contested the interim order.
They maintained that the assets were legitimately acquired and argued that the EFCC neither established a connection between the properties and any criminal activity nor identified any specific offence from which the assets were allegedly derived. They further accused the commission of relying on speculation instead of credible evidence.
After the court’s annual vacation, the matter was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik for hearing and determination.
During the proceedings, counsel to the EFCC argued that investigations revealed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and were held in the names of relatives and companies allegedly acting as fronts for the former minister.
The commission further argued that civil forfeiture proceedings require proof of reasonable suspicion rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt, urging the court to make the interim order permanent.
After hearing the parties and adopting their final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment.
The ruling, initially scheduled for July 6, was postponed twice before Justice Abdulmalik delivered the final judgment on Wednesday, ordering the forfeiture of 48 of the properties to the Federal Government.
