Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Properties Linked to Ex-AGF Malami
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties, including a university, allegedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established that the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court ruled that Malami failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the properties were acquired through legitimate sources of income.
Justice Abdulmalik also dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Malami, members of his family and companies linked to the disputed assets, describing them as lacking merit.
According to the judge, the central issue before the court was not the ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.
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She held that the respondents failed to disprove the EFCC’s reasonable suspicion that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities and consequently granted the commission’s application for final forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
However, the court declined the EFCC’s request to permanently forfeit nine other properties located in Kebbi and Kaduna states, vacating the interim forfeiture order on those assets after finding that the anti-graft agency failed to establish a sufficient link between them and any unlawful activity.
The EFCC had sought the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion, alleging they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, on January 16, granted an interim forfeiture order following an ex parte application moved by EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN).
After the interim order was published, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza, his son, Abdulaziz, and several companies associated with the properties challenged the application, urging the court to set aside the interim forfeiture order.
They maintained that the assets were lawfully acquired and argued that the EFCC had failed to establish any nexus between the properties and alleged criminal conduct.
With Wednesday’s ruling, the court granted the Federal Government final forfeiture of 48 of the disputed properties while excluding the remaining nine from the forfeiture order.
By PRNigeria
