Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to overturn an interim forfeiture order placed on three properties allegedly linked to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The properties, identified as items 9, 18 and 48 in the EFCC’s ex parte application, form part of 57 assets the commission claims were acquired through unlawful means. The court had ordered their temporary forfeiture to the Federal Government on January 6, 2026.
In a motion on notice filed by his legal team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), Malami maintained that the affected properties were legally acquired and properly declared in his asset declarations submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while he was in public service.
Daudu told the court that the assets, including their values and titles, were clearly stated and documented in Malami’s asset declaration forms covering the period from 2019 to 2023.
He further explained that Property No. 48 — the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building valued at ₦56 million — does not belong personally to Malami but is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
Malami’s lawyers accused the EFCC of obtaining the interim forfeiture order by concealing material facts and misrepresenting the true ownership of the properties.
According to the application, the forfeiture proceedings amount to a violation of Malami’s right to property, his presumption of innocence, and his right to live peacefully with his family.
The former AGF is seeking two main orders from the court: the first to vacate the interim forfeiture order on the three properties — Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Kano; a duplex in Wuse II, Abuja; and the ADC Foundation Building. The second is an order restraining the EFCC from taking any further steps or interfering with the properties.
Defence Says No Criminal Link Established
The defence argued that the EFCC failed to establish any prima facie connection between the properties and alleged criminal activity, as required by law.
Daudu noted that Properties Nos. 9 and 18 were duly listed in Malami’s asset declarations in 2019 and 2023, stressing that these declarations constitute prima facie evidence of lawful ownership.
Recall that Justice Inyang Ekwo, sitting as a vacation judge, had on January 6 granted the EFCC’s ex parte request for the temporary forfeiture of 57 properties said to be associated with Malami.
During the proceedings, EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), told the court that the assets were suspected proceeds of unlawful activities. The judge subsequently ordered the EFCC to publish the forfeiture notice in a national newspaper, giving interested parties 14 days to show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.