ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to Nigeria’s former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
Golden Info reports that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission established the reasonable suspicion required by law to justify the confiscation. Justice Abdulmalik stated that Malami, his family members, and associated companies failed to prove the assets were not acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Before delivering the substantive judgment, the court dismissed several applications filed by the respondents, describing them as “wanting in merit.” “The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” Justice Abdulmalik said. She added that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”
The anti-graft agency initiated civil forfeiture proceedings in January, initially seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion ($133 million). Relying on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the court granted the application for final forfeiture but discharged the interim order for some of the properties, leaving the final order applicable to 48 assets located across Kano, Kebbi, and Kaduna states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
Following the initial interim forfeiture order granted on January 16, by vacation judge Justice Emeka Nwite, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several linked companies challenged the directive. The respondents argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence.
The final judgment was delivered at 3:09 p.m. WAT after the court deferred the ruling twice from its initial date of July 6.