Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, 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.
Judge Abdulmalik granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) application, after holding that the respondents failed to rebut the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired through unlawful activities.
Before delivering the substantive judgment, the judge dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Mr. Malami, his family members and some companies linked to the properties, describing them as “wanting in merit”.
She held that the issue before the court was not “who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties.”
According to the judge, the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities”.
Judge Abdulmalik relied principally on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in granting the final forfeiture order.
However, she vacated the interim forfeiture order in respect of some properties.
The EFCC had instituted the civil forfeiture proceedings in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at ₦212.8 billion, which it alleged were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the AGF and minister.
