By John Azu
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of more than 40 properties linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, after ruling that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), holding that Malami and other respondents failed to rebut the reasonable suspicion that the assets were acquired with illicit funds.
The court held that the central issue was not the ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.
“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties,” Justice Abdulmalik said, adding that the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.”
The forfeiture proceedings arose from a 16-count money laundering charge filed by the EFCC against Malami, his son, Abdulaziz, his wife, Asabe Bashir, and a staff member of Rahamanniyya Properties Ltd. The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants conspired to conceal the illicit origin of properties located across Abuja, Kano and Kebbi states.
Before delivering the judgment, the court dismissed several applications and motions filed by Malami, members of his family and companies linked to the assets, describing them as lacking merit.
Justice Abdulmalik relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in making the final forfeiture order. However, she discharged the interim forfeiture order on some of the properties initially listed by the EFCC.
The EFCC had commenced the civil forfeiture proceedings in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion, alleging that they were proceeds of corruption.
On January 16, Justice Emeka Nwite granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to enable interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Following the publication, Malami and his co-defendants challenged the interim order, arguing that several of the properties were lawfully acquired.
Malami specifically contested the forfeiture of three properties, including a residence on Lamido Crescent in Kano, a duplex in Wuse II, Abuja, and the ADC Khadi Malami Foundation building.
Through his counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Malami argued that the assets were acquired through legitimate sources, including salaries and allowances earned while in public office, proceeds from business activities, gifts, inheritance, loans and income from the public presentation of his book.
He also maintained that the disputed assets had been declared in his asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 2019 and 2023, arguing that the declarations constituted prima facie evidence of their lawful acquisition.
The defence further contended that the EFCC obtained the interim forfeiture order by suppressing material facts, inflating the value of the assets and relying on insufficient evidence. Counsel also argued that the proceedings violated Malami’s constitutional rights to property and the presumption of innocence.
The court, however, rejected the arguments and upheld the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the affected properties while excluding some assets from the order.
List of the forfeited properties:
The properties include: Rayhaan University Buildings, Agro allied factory buildings, machines, hotels, pharmacy, supermarket, primary and secondary schools, oil and gas filling stations, shops and other buildings.
Some of them are: Luxury Duplex at Amazon Street, Plot No. 3011 Within Cadastral Zone, A06 Maitama; File No: AN enhancement 11352, which was purchased in December 2022 at N500, 000, 000.00 (value after enhancement at N5,950,000,000).
Two Winged Large Storey Building Situate at No. 3, Onitsha Crescent, Area 11,Garki, Cadastral Zone, A03, Abuja (formerly Harmonia Hotels Limited), FCT, which was purchased Dec. 2018 at N7,000,000,000.
Plot 683, Jabi District, Cadastral Zone B04, Comprising of a five storey Building (Now Luxurious Meethaq Hotels Ltd, Jabi with 53 rooms/suites), which was purchased in Sept. 2020 at carcass level at N850,000,000 with additional N300,000,000 to take possession (value after completion N8,400,000,000).
Property No. 3130 within Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, FCT, Abuja, Comprising Terraces, purchased in January 2021 at N360,000,000.
Property No. 3 Rhine Street, Maitama, Abuja (Meethaq Hotels Limited, Maitama With 15 ROOMS), which was purchased in February 2018 at N430,000,000 (current value after rehabilitation is N12,950,000,000).
Plot No. 1241B, Asokoro District Zone (No. 11A Yakubu Gowon Crescent) Asokoro District, which was purchased in July 2021 at N325,000,000.
Shop No. C82 Citiscape — Shariff Plaza, Plot 739 Cadastral Zone A07, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse Il, FCT, Abuja, which was purchased in March 2024 at N120,000,000.
No. 4 Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, which was purchased in December 2022 at N300,000,000.
Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa, GRA, Kano, purchased in July 2019 with no specific amount stated.
A Plaza, Commercial Toilets, Laundering, Warehouse Tanks Adjacent.
100 Hectares Of Land Along Birnin Kebbi, Jega Road, which was purchased in 2020 at N100,000,000.
Four Bedroom Bungalow Gesse Phase, Birnin Kebbi, which was purchased in 2023 at N101,000, 000.
Shops Nos. A36, B3 Vegas Mall, Wuse 2, Abuja, which was purchased in July 2023 at N158,000,000.
No. 26, Babbi Drive, Bua Estate, Abuja, purchased in 2022 at N136,000,000.
No. 27, Efab Estates Avenue, 59™ Crescent, Gwarimpa, Abuja, purchased in January 2016 at N120,000,000.
Four Bedroom/ 2 Rooms Boys Quarters At No. 10B, Doka Crescent Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, purchased in Jan. 2018 at N40, 000, 000.00.
Plot No. 13, Ipent 7 Estate, Karsana District, Abuja, purchased in June 2018 at N85,000,000.
A Bedroom Duplex & Boys Quarters At No. 12 Yalinga Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse Il, Abuja, purchased in Oct. 2018 at N150,000,000.
Two Warehouse Shops B40 And B46, Wuse Market, Abuja, purchased in July 2020 at N50,000,000.
Twin Houses At Zone E, Apo Legislative Quarters, Cadastral Zone B01, Plot 14014, Gudu District, Abuja, was purchased between February and May 2017 at N250,000,000.
Properties acquired by Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative at the Academic Garden City, Birnin Kebbi, sold by the Federal Housing Authority Mortgage namely.
Others are nine units of three bedroom, bungalow, three units of two bedroom, bungalow, and 5.4 hectares of land, which were purchased between February 2023 and September 2023 at N187,000,000, among other assets listed in the schedule.