BREAKING: Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of 48 Properties Worth N212bn Linked To Ex-AGF Malami
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 out of 57 properties valued at approximately N212 billion and linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling on Wednesday, granting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)'s application for final forfeiture. The court also dismissed objections filed by Malami, members of his family, and several companies claiming ownership of the assets, describing their applications as lacking merit.
In her judgment, Justice Abdulmalik held that the central issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.
"The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties," the judge ruled.
The forfeited assets are spread across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, as well as Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna states. They include luxury hotels, residential estates, duplexes, plazas, warehouses, shopping units, educational institutions, industrial facilities, and other high-value commercial properties acquired over several years.
Among the most prominent assets affected by the ruling are the Meethaq Hotels in Maitama and Jabi, Abuja; the Rayhaan University permanent, temporary and third campuses in Kebbi State; the Rayhaan Agro Allied Factory; Azbir Hotel and Arena; Zeennoor Hotel in Kano; Rayhaan Hotel in Kano; and several residential properties, schools, commercial plazas, filling stations, warehouses, and extensive parcels of land.
The EFCC had initially secured an interim forfeiture order covering all 57 properties while investigations into their acquisition were ongoing. Following Wednesday's judgment, 48 of the assets have now been permanently forfeited to the Federal Government, while the remaining properties were excluded from the final forfeiture order.
The anti-graft agency argued that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, a position the court upheld after reviewing the evidence presented.
The ruling marks one of the largest asset forfeiture cases in Nigeria's anti-corruption campaign, involving properties valued at over N212 billion across multiple states. It also represents a significant legal victory for the EFCC in its efforts to recover assets suspected to have been acquired through illicit means.
Neither Malami nor his legal representatives had issued an official reaction to the judgment as of the time of filing this report.
