EFCC Seeks Permanent Forfeiture of 57 Properties Linked to Ex‑AGF Malami

EFCC Seeks Permanent Forfeiture of 57 Properties Linked to Ex‑AGF Malami

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to permanently seize 57 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as part of its investigation into suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.

The anti‑graft agency presented the application before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, urging the court to grant a final forfeiture order in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria after an earlier interim forfeiture order was issued in January. The case is filed as FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026.

In a motion filed by its legal team led by Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, and Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, the EFCC maintained that the respondents — including Malami, his relatives, and multiple corporate entities — have failed to justify why the interim forfeiture order should be reversed.

The commission grounded its application in Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud‑Related Offences Act, 2006, which empowers courts to confiscate assets reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful conduct, even without a criminal conviction. The EFCC argued that due process was followed, including the publication of the interim forfeiture order in THISDAY newspaper on January 9, 2026.

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“This honourable court made an interim order forfeiting the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Okutepa told the court, adding that “no sufficient cause has been shown why the properties… should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

An affidavit deposed to by EFCC investigator Daniel Adebayo outlined the scope of the probe, which began after multiple petitions accused Malami of corruption, abuse of office and fraud. Investigators examined financial records from commercial banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and obtained information from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Land registries and geographical information systems in Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano and Abuja were also consulted, and physical inspections and valuations of the properties were conducted.

Adebayo informed the court that the assets’ value was disproportionate to Malami’s lawful earnings while in office between 2015 and 2023. According to evidence presented:

• Malami earned a total salary of ₦89,664,000 during his eight years in office, averaging about ₦962,663.68 per month.
• He received a ₦12,158,400 severance allowance upon leaving office.
• He declared estacode (travel) allowances totalling ₦253,608,500 for official trips between 2015 and 2023, as documented in an addendum to his asset declaration form submitted to the CCB in June 2023.

Copies of Malami’s asset declaration forms and supporting documentation were seized during an EFCC search of his residence and tendered as Exhibits EFCC 2 & 3.

The affidavit further states that many properties were acquired through proxies and corporate entities — such as Rayhaan University (Kebbi), Amasdul Oil and Gas Ltd, Mountain View Gold and Jewellery Ltd, Azbir Arena Nigeria Ltd, Meethaq Hotels Ltd, and others — raising suspicion about their provenance. Several structures were allegedly developed without appropriate building permits or approvals, particularly in Kano and Kebbi states.

Adebayo also noted that the properties’ total value is estimated at about ₦213.2 billion, geographically spread across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states.

Malami, his wife Hajia Bashir Asabe, his son Abiru’ Rahman Abubakar Malami, and the corporate respondents have challenged the interim forfeiture order and asked the court to set it aside. The matter is now slated for a full hearing on April 21, 2026 before Justice Abdulmalik.

This application follows an earlier ruling on January 8, 2026, by Justice Emeka Nwite, which granted the EFCC’s ex parte request for interim forfeiture and ordered publication to allow interested parties to contest it within 14 days — a window that has since lapsed without successful challenges to overturn the interim order.

Legal experts note that final forfeiture applications such as this one test the non‑conviction based forfeiture regime and could shape future asset recovery efforts in high‑profile corruption cases in Nigeria.

EFCC Seeks Permanent Forfeiture of 57 Properties Linked to Ex‑AGF Malami