Olushola Omogbehin
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has appealed to an Abuja High Court to order the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.
In a motion filed by its legal team led by Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) and Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), EFCC told Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that the respondents failed to place sufficient material before the court to justify setting aside the interim forfeiture order earlier granted.
In the motion with number FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026, EFCC brought the application pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006, seeking “a final order of this honourable court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the properties described in the schedule below, which were found by the commission as properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The motion listed Malami, Hajia Bashir Asabe and Abiru’ Rahman Abubakar Malami as part of the respondents, alongside several companies allegedly linked to the assets.
Arguing the motion, Okutepa said that the proceeding was a non-conviction-based forfeiture and that the court has the statutory authority to grant the relief sought.
“This honourable court made an interim order forfeiting the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The order of the honourable court has been published in a national daily, namely THISDAY Newspaper of 9th January, 2026.”
Okutepa argued further that “No sufficient cause has been shown why the properties under the interim forfeiture order should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
According to an affidavit deposed to by Daniel Adebayo, an EFCC investigator, the commission posits that it received many petitions that levelled corruption, abuse of office and fraud against Malami.
Adebayo explained that investigations involved obtaining financial records from banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria, as well as inquiries from agencies including the Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Code of Conduct Bureau and the Abuja Geographical Information System, land registries in Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano states were also queried.
He disclosed that Malami’s earnings in office from 2015 to 2023, including salaries, allowances and estacodes, were far cry with the value of the assets under investigation. “I know as a fact and verily believe the findings of the investigation, which are as follows:
“Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) was the Hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, hereinafter referred to as HAGF, from 2015 to 2023. He was paid a total of N89,664,000.00 as salary between 2015 and 2023, whilst in office, with an average payment of N962,663.68 per month.
“He also received a severance allowance of N12,158,400.00 at the end of his tenure in office.
“Mr Malami SAN was also paid estacodes allowances to cover his travel expenses whenever he travelled outside the country on official trips.
“He calculated and declared a total sum of N253,608,500.00 as the amount he received for the official trips between 2015 and 2023 in a letter written to the Chairman of the CCB as an addendum to his Assets Declaration Form in June 2023.
“Attached and collectively marked as Exhibit EFCC 2 & 3 are copies of the asset declaration forms filled out by Mr Malami SAN from 2015 to 2023, together with a letter dated 16th of June, 2023, written by him to the Chairman of the CCB as an addendum to the asset declaration form as found at his house during EFCC’s execution of a search warrant.”
Adebayo further deposed: “Aside from the actual acquisition of the properties which are manifestly disproportionate to Mr Malami SAN‘s known and lawful sources of income, no building permits/approvals from appropriate authorities were obtained to erect most of the various structures in Kano and Kebbi states as part of a scheme to disguise the unlawful origin of the funds used to acquire the assets.”
He alleged that some of the properties were acquired through proxies and corporate entities linked to the former minister.
The EFCC listed 57 landed properties spread across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states, including assets tied to Rayhaan University in Kebbi.
Justice Abdulmalik fixed April 21 for the hearing of the motion.
The case stems from an earlier order of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on January 8, 2026, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, which granted an interim forfeiture of the 57 properties following an ex parte application by the EFCC. Valued at about N213.2bn, they were link to Malami and two of his sons and were suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court directed that the assets be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government, and ordered the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to enable interested parties to show cause within 14 days why they should not be permanently forfeited.
