Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside an interim forfeiture order on some of his properties seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On January 6, Emeka Nwite, a judge of the federal high court, ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The properties were said to be linked to Malami and two of his sons, Abdulaziz Malami and Abiru Rahman Malami.
The EFCC said the properties are valued at N213.2 billion.
The order followed an ex parte motion filed by the anti-graft agency, with the judge holding that the properties were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means and should be temporarily forfeited to the federal government.
Nwite also directed the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper and invited interested parties to appear before the court within 14 days to show cause why a final forfeiture order should not be granted.
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However, in a motion on notice filed through his counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Malami accused the EFCC of obtaining the interim order through the suppression of material facts and misrepresentation.
He urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that it could result in conflicting decisions and amounted to duplicative litigation. Malami also said the proceedings violated his 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 numbers 9, 18 and 48 in the EFCC’s ex parte application.
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The properties include Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, purchased on July 31, 2019; a four-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, bought for N56 million.
Malami asked the court to set aside the interim forfeiture order as it affects the three properties and restrain the EFCC from interfering with his ownership, possession and control of them.
He also said one of the properties is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
In a 14-ground argument, Daudu said there was no prima facie evidence linking the properties to any unlawful activity or specific offence.
He added that Malami declared properties 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 is held in trust for his late father’s estate.
According to Daudu, the assets, their values and sources of ownership were clearly stated in the asset declaration forms spanning from 2019 to 2023, which he said constituted prima facie evidence of the legitimacy of their acquisition.
The senior lawyer also outlined Malami’s declared sources of income, including earnings from salaries, allowances, board memberships, disposal of assets, business turnover, loans to businesses, traditional gifts from friends and proceeds from the public presentation of a book authored by the former AGF.
He said Malami declared N374.63 million from salaries, estacodes, severance allowances and other earnings; N574.07 million from the disposal of assets; N10.02 billion as business turnover; N2.52 billion as loans to businesses; and N958 million as traditional gifts from friends.
Daudu added that Malami also earned N509.88 million from the launch and public presentation of his book titled “Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs.”
He said these income streams and profits from Malami’s businesses showed that the properties were acquired lawfully, adding that the EFCC failed to place any prima facie evidence before the court to justify the forfeiture.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
