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By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside an interim forfeiture order placed on three of the 57 properties listed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for forfeiture to the Federal Government.
Malami is specifically challenging the inclusion of properties listed as Nos. 9, 18 and 48 in the ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC on January 6, 2026.
The former Attorney-General, who served under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, made the request in a motion on notice, urging the court to vacate the interim order as it relates to the three properties.
The assets in dispute include Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, purchased on July 31, 2019, with no purchase price stated in the forfeiture schedule and listed as No. 9.
Also affected are a three-bedroom duplex with boys’ quarters at No. 12, Yalinga Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, reportedly acquired in October 2018 for ₦150 million and listed as No. 18, as well as the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, purchased for ₦56 million and listed as No. 48.
Our correspondent recalls rthat Justice Emeka Nwite, sitting as a vacation judge, had on January 6 ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly linked to Malami.
The order followed an ex-parte application moved by EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN. Justice Nwite subsequently directed the commission to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national daily, inviting interested persons to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The properties, described as multi-billion-naira assets, are located in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states.
However, in the motion on notice filed on Malami’s behalf by a legal team, led by Joseph Daudu, SAN, the former AGF accused the EFCC of obtaining the interim order through suppression of material facts and misrepresentation.
Malami urged the court to dismiss or strike out the suit to prevent what he described as “conflicting outcomes and duplicative litigation.”
He argued that the proceedings constitute an assault on his fundamental right to own property, his presumption of innocence and his right to live in peace with his family.
In the application dated January 26 and filed on January 27, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026, Malami sought two key reliefs.
He prayed the court to vacate, set aside or discharge the interim forfeiture order of January 6 as it relates to properties listed as Nos. 9, 18 and 48, arguing that the assets were duly declared in his asset declaration forms throughout his tenure as a public officer.
He further stated that property No. 48 is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Khadi Malami Nassarawa.
Malami also sought an order restraining the EFCC, its agents or privies from interfering with, taking possession of, or disturbing his ownership and control of the properties while purportedly enforcing the interim order.
In a 14-ground argument supporting the application, Daudu contended that the properties were not linked by any prima facie evidence to unlawful activity or any specific offence.
He said Malami had declared properties Nos. 9 and 18 in his asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in 2019 and 2023, respectively, while property No. 48 is held in trust for his late father’s estate.
“These assets, their values and their root of title were clearly stated and demonstrated in the asset declaration forms spanning from 2019 to 2023,” Daudu said, adding that such declarations constitute prima facie evidence of the legitimacy of their acquisition.
The senior advocate further outlined Malami’s declared sources of income to include ₦374,630,900 from salaries, estacodes, severance allowances and other earnings; sitting allowances from various boards and committees.
Others he said are ₦574,073,000 from the disposal of assets; ₦10.017 billion turnover from businesses; ₦2.522 billion in business loans; and ₦958 million received as traditional gifts from personal friends.
He also disclosed that ₦509.88 million was realised from the launch and public presentation of Malami’s book titled “Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs.”
Daudu argued that these income streams sufficiently establish that the properties were acquired through lawful and legitimate means, as reflected in Malami’s asset declaration forms.
According to him, the interim forfeiture order is not based on any prima facie evidence of unlawful conduct and was wrongly granted.
He accused the EFCC of obtaining the order through exaggeration, malicious inflation of asset values and incompetent valuation aimed at misleading the court and improperly influencing its discretion.
Justice Nwite had earlier adjourned the matter to January 27 for a report on compliance with the publication order.
However, proceedings could not continue as the matter was not listed on the cause list, having been heard during the court’s vacation period.
Following the conclusion of vacation sittings, the case file was remitted to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
It was also observed that several lawyers were present in court on January 27, having filed processes on behalf of their clients seeking to halt proceedings for the final forfeiture of the assets.
Malami is currently facing money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC and is also said to be in detention at the Department of State Services (DSS) facility over a separate allegation bordering on terrorism financing.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
