The Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated the permanent forfeiture of 48 assets linked to the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled in Abuja on Wednesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had proven the reasonable suspicion necessary by law to warrant the forfeiture of the assets.
The judge determined that Malami, along with his relatives and businesses associated with the properties, did not succeed in refuting the commission’s claim that the assets were obtained through illegal activities.
Prior to issuing the main ruling, Justice Abdulmalik rejected multiple applications, motions on notice, and applications to show cause submitted by the respondents, labeling them as “lacking in merit.”
She asserted that the matter at hand was not the ownership of the properties but the validity of the funds utilized to purchase them.
“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property,” the judge said.
She added that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”
Citing Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, Justice Abdulmalik approved the EFCC’s request for final forfeiture.
The court, nonetheless, canceled the interim forfeiture order concerning certain property.
In January, the anti-graft agency initiated civil forfeiture proceedings aiming for the permanent seizure of 57 properties worth N212.8 billion, claiming they were proceeds from illegal activities associated with the former AGF.
On January 16, vacation judge Justice Emeka Nwite issued a temporary forfeiture order regarding the property and instructed the EFCC to advertise the order in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties to come before the court and explain why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
The properties can be found in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi, and Kaduna states.
After the publication, Malami, along with his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami; his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami; and multiple companies associated with the assets contested the interim forfeiture order.
They claimed that the properties were legitimately obtained and maintained that the EFCC did not prove any connection between the assets and the supposed illegal activities.
The respondents also asserted that the commission depended on conjecture instead of reliable evidence and failed to demonstrate that the properties were obtained from criminal activities or to pinpoint any particular crime from which they were supposedly obtained.
Once the court returned from its annual break, the case was assigned to Justice Abdulmalik for hearing and resolution.
During the hearing, the EFCC’s lawyer contended that investigations revealed the assets were purchased with money gained from illegal activities and were registered under the names of individuals and companies serving as fronts for Malami.
The commission additionally argued that, according to the laws regulating civil forfeiture cases, it was only required to demonstrate reasonable suspicion rather than prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Following the submission of their final written arguments in May, the court withheld its judgment.
The ruling, originally scheduled for July 6, was postponed twice before Justice Abdulmalik ultimately announced the decision on Wednesday.
