A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties valued at over N212 billion, which are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly linked to Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation, and his two sons.
Gatekeepers News reports that the order was granted on Tuesday by Justice Emeka Nwite following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge held that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with illicit funds and should be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government pending further proceedings.
He rules, “It is hereby ordered that an interim order of this honourable court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria the properties described in Schedule 1 below, which are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Justice Nwite also directed EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national daily, inviting individuals or organisations with interests in the properties to appear before the court within 14 days and explain why a final forfeiture order should not be made. The matter was adjourned to January 27 for a report on compliance.
Court documents showed that the properties include high-value residential buildings, hotels, commercial plazas, shops, and large parcels of land located across Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, and Kebbi states.
Several of the assets were allegedly acquired during Malami’s tenure as attorney-general, with some later upgraded into luxury facilities and commercial ventures.
EFCC said the assets were traced through financial investigations involving Malami and members of his family, as part of broader anti-corruption efforts targeting public officials accused of abusing office for personal gain.
The interim forfeiture is connected to an ongoing criminal trial in which Malami, his wife, and one of his sons are facing money laundering charges amounting to N8.7 billion before the same court. The defendants have denied the allegations, and the case is still pending.
