Malami loses 48 properties to FG
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the federal government. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the order after accepting the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC). The […]
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the federal government.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the order after accepting the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC).
The judge held that the respondents failed to rebut the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.
Before delivering the substantive judgement, the judge dismissed several applications and motions on notice filed by Malami, his family members and some companies linked to the properties, describing them as “wanting in merit.”
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But in an interview with Trust TV on Wednesday night, Malami’s spokesperson, Mohammed Bello Doka, said the ruling would be appealed.
Daily Trust reports that the EFCC had in January 2026 instituted a civil proceeding against Malami, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion. The anti-graft agency alleged that the properties were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF.
On 16 January, during the Federal High Court’s annual vacation, a vacation judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, granted an interim forfeiture order on the properties.
Justice Nwite also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper for anyone with an interest in the assets to appear before the court and show cause why they should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
Checks by our correspondent showed that the forfeited properties are located across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
They include: Rayhaan University Buildings, agro-allied factory buildings, machines, hotels, pharmacy, supermarket, primary and secondary schools, oil and gas filling stations, shops and other buildings.
Others are: a luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Plot No. 3011 Within Cadastral Zone, A06 Maitama; an enhancement 11352, purchased in December 2022 for N500 million, valued after enhancement at N5.95bn.
Two-winged large storey building situate at No. 3, Onitsha Crescent, Area 11,Garki, Cadastral Zone, A03, Abuja (formerly Harmonia Hotels Limited), FCT, bought in December 2018 for N7bn and Plot 683, Jabi District, Cadastral Zone B04, comprising a five-storey building (now luxurious Meethaq Hotels Ltd, Jabi with 53 rooms/suites), purchased in September 2020 at carcass level for N850m with additional N300m to take possession, valued after completion at N8.4bn.
Property No. 3130 within Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, FCT, Abuja, comprising terraces, purchased in January 2021 at N360m; Property No. 3 Rhine Street, Maitama, Abuja (Meethaq Hotels Limited, Maitama with 15 rooms), bought in February 2018 for N430m and with current value after rehabilitation of N12.95bn and Plot No. 1241B, Asokoro District Zone, acquired in July 2021 for N325m.
Shop No. C82 Citiscape — Shariff Plaza, Plot 739 Cadastral Zone A07, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse Il, FCT, Abuja, bought in March 2024 for N120m; No. 4 Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, purchased in December 2022 for N300m and Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa, GRA, Kano, acquired in July 2019 with no specific amount stated.
100 hectares of land along Birnin Kebbi, Jega Road, bought in 2020 for N100m and a four-bedroom bungalow in Gesse Phase, Birnin Kebbi, purchased in 2023 for N101m.
Shops Nos. A36, B3 Vegas Mall, Wuse 2, Abuja, bought in July 2023 for N158m; No. 26, Babbi Drive, Bua Estate, Abuja, acquired in 2022 for N136m and No. 27, Efab Estates Avenue, 59 Crescent, Gwarimpa, Abuja, purchased in January 2016 for N120m.
Four bedroom/2 rooms boys quarters at No. 10B, Doka Crescent, Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, purchased in January 2018 for N40m; Plot No. 13, Ipent 7 Estate, Karsana District, Abuja, bought in June 2018 for N85m.
A bedroom duplex and boys quarters at No. 12 Yalinga Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse Il, Abuja, acquired in October 2018 for N150m; two warehouse shops B40 and B46, Wuse Market, Abuja, purchased in July 2020 for N50m.
Twin houses at Zone E, Apo Legislative Quarters, Cadastral Zone B01, Plot 14014, Gudu District, Abuja, bought between February and May 2017 for N250m and properties acquired by Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative at the Academic Garden City, Birnin Kebbi, sold by the Federal Housing Authority Mortgage.
Others include nine units of three-bedroom bungalow; three units of two-bedroom bungalow, and 5.4 hectares of land purchased between February 2023 and September 2023 at N187m.
Malami’s arguments
Following the publication, Malami; his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami; his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the properties filed objections.
They urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application and set aside the interim forfeiture order, arguing that it was wrongly granted.
They also argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and any unlawful activity, insisting that the EFCC relied on speculation rather than credible evidence.
They maintained that the commission neither proved that the properties were proceeds of crime nor identified any specific criminal offence from which the assets were derived.
After the Federal High Court resumed from its annual vacation, the case was reassigned to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik for hearing and determination.
At the hearing, the EFCC maintained that its investigation showed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.
The commission urged the court to make the interim forfeiture order final, while arguing that, under the law, it only needed to establish “reasonable suspicion” and not prove its case “beyond reasonable doubt.”
In May, both the EFCC and other parties adopted their final written addresses, after which Justice Abdulmalik reserved judgement.
The court had initially fixed July 6 and later July 10 for judgement but it eventually delivered the ruling on Wednesday.
Justice Abdulmalik held that the issue before the court was not “who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties.”
The judge held that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities” and relied principally on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in granting the final forfeiture order.
Justice Abdulmalik vacated the interim forfeiture order in respect of some properties and ordered that they be forfeited to the federal government accordingly.
Previous major forfeitures
At least five major permanent forfeiture orders involving cash, landed properties, commercial assets and institutional facilities have been granted by Nigerian courts between 2022 and 2026, the highest number of assets being the 48 properties linked to Malami.
Earlier, on March 31, 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted a final forfeiture order for N3.44 billion and three properties linked to Salihu Nuhu Jamari, a former Managing Director of the NNPC Gas and Power Investment Company. The assets were traced to alleged illicit transactions.
In 2024, two significant forfeiture rulings were delivered. On June 7, 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the permanent forfeiture of Nok University, a hotel and a factory in Kaduna State linked to Anthony Hassan. The case was notable because it involved an entire educational institution and associated commercial assets.
Two weeks later, on June 21, 2024, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the forfeiture of properties valued at over N11 billion linked to former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The court also ordered the final forfeiture of N830m, $4.7m and a slew of properties linked to Emefiele. The properties affected by the ruling include 94 units of an 11-storey building under construction at No. 2, Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue (formerly Club Road), Ikoyi, Lagos; AM Plaza, an 11-storey office space on 1E, Otunba Adedoyin Crescent, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos; and Imore Industrial Park 1, Esa Street.
Others are a plot of land at No. 1 Bunmi Owulude Street (Maruwa), Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; a property at No. 8 Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; and an estate at 100 Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, owned by Lipam Investment Services.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of a 1,038.069-square-meter plot in Lekki Foreshore Estate Scheme, Block A, Plot 4, Foreshore Estate, Eti-Osa, Lagos, and two properties purchased from Chevron Nigeria at Closed PFA Fund, Block B, Lot Twin Completed Property, Lakes Estate, Lekki, Lagos.
The ruling also covered the final forfeiture of €20,000 and £1,999.50 traced to Exactquote Bureau De Change. Further forfeited was an investment worth $900,000 traced to Anita Joy Omoile in Titan Bank, $4,414,801.76 traced to Deep Blue Energy Service Limited in First Bank, and N283,086,186.73 traced to Lipam Investment Services.
On March 16, 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the forfeiture of $228,428, N120 million and landed property linked to retired Air Vice Marshal Saliu Atawodi, a former chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security. The assets were tied to alleged proceeds of corruption.
It’s believed that while the Malami case is the largest by number of assets, the Emefiele forfeiture remains the biggest by estimated monetary value.
Last year, the anti-graft agency also secured the forfeiture of 73 properties and several gadgets, including 1,596 laptop computers, among others, allegedly belonging to some Chinese nationals involved in a crime syndicate.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos first issued the interim forfeiture order following an ex parte motion filed by EFCC counsel B.M. Isah against Genting International Co. before it was permanently forfeited.
Several other high-profile cases remain at the interim stage and have not yet resulted in final forfeiture.
Case embarrassing – Lawyer
A human rights lawyer, Barrister Abba Hikima, has described the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to Malami, as an embarrassing development that raises serious questions about accountability in public service.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Hikima said while he would not assess the judgement itself, the scale of the assets involved was troubling given Malami’s former position as the country’s chief legal adviser.
He said, “I can only comment, not assess. Because every time a judgement of a court is delivered, that is it. It is left to the person who is happy with it to either appeal or assess it.
“It is a very unfortunate development, not because the properties were forfeited, but that many properties were found to have been acquired by Nigeria’s former Chief Legal Adviser to the federal government. It is such an embarrassing development.”
The lawyer said the ruling reflected a failure of ethical responsibility expected from senior public officials.
“It is unbecoming and embarrassing for a public officer. We are talking about someone who occupied the office of the Chief Legal Officer and the only constitutional minister of the federation. That office demands probity, accountability and the highest ethical conduct,” he said.
On the implications for Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts, Hikima said the case demonstrated that anti-graft agencies could act where a public officer’s lifestyle appeared inconsistent with legitimate earnings.
“In Nigeria, there is what we call the presumption of innocence. But one of the exceptions is where somebody is living a lifestyle that is clearly not commensurate with his lawful earnings. In such a case, agencies can demand an explanation of how those assets were acquired.
“As we have seen in this case, the respondent was unable to adequately explain the sources of the funds with which the properties were purchased, and that resulted in the final forfeiture order,” he added.
The lawyer argued that the forfeited assets should be viewed as property of the Nigerian people rather than simply assets vested in the federal government.
“One of the mistakes we make as citizens is to think that these properties now belong only to the federal government. We are the federal government. Nigerians are the government. These properties belong to all of us,” he said.
He urged the government to ensure that the assets are managed in a way that delivers public benefit.
“The university, among the forfeited properties, can become a public university. The commercial structures and other institutions should be administered in a manner that benefits Nigerians. The goal is that these assets should be applied equitably and in a way that serves the public interest,” Hikima said.