July 14, 2026 | Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the judgment on Wednesday following an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The court held that the EFCC had shown the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of crime and not from lawful income.
The judge said Malami, who served as Justice Minister from November 11, 2015 to May 29, 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, failed to rebut the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities. The court dismissed arguments that some of the properties belonged to the larger Malami family in Kebbi State, stating that the issue was not ownership but the legitimacy of funds used to acquire them.
The ruling was made under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act. It followed an interim forfeiture order granted on July 1, which gave interested parties 14 days to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited. That deadline expired on Tuesday.
The EFCC had initially sought the forfeiture of 57 properties it said were traced to the former minister. The court, however, found credible evidence establishing genuine ownership of nine of the listed properties and ordered the final forfeiture of the remaining 48. Assets listed include a luxury duplex in Abuja, a university campus, an agro-allied factory, hotels, schools, filling stations and other buildings mostly located in northern Nigeria. The properties were earlier valued at over N212 billion.
Malami is currently facing 16 counts of money laundering and conspiracy before the EFCC. He has pleaded not guilty.
The court directed that the forfeited properties be permanently seized by the federal government.
