Malami Asks Court To Vacate Forfeiture Order On Three Properties

Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside the interim forfeiture order granted against three properties linked to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The properties, listed as Nos. 9, 18, and 48 in the EFCC’s ex parte motion, are among 57 assets the commission alleges were acquired through unlawful means and which the court ordered temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government on January 6, 2026.

In a motion on notice filed by his legal team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), Malami insisted the affected properties were lawfully acquired and duly declared in his Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) asset forms during his time in public office.

“These assets, their value and their root of title have been clearly stated and specifically demonstrated in the various asset declaration forms spanning from 2019 to 2023,” Daudu told the court.

He noted that Property No. 48, the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, valued at ₦56 million, was not even personally owned by Malami but held in trust for his late father’s estate, Kadi Malami.

Malami’s legal team argued that the EFCC obtained the interim order by suppressing material facts and misrepresenting the ownership status of the properties.

“The proceeding is an assault on the applicant’s right to property, his presumption of innocence, and right to live in peace with his family,” the motion stated.

The former AGF is seeking two reliefs from the court: “An order vacating the interim forfeiture order against the three properties, Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Kano (No. 9); a duplex in Wuse II, Abuja (No. 18); and the ADC Foundation Building (No. 48).

“An order restraining the EFCC from interfering with or taking further action against the listed properties.”

No Link To Criminal Activity, Says Defence

The defence argued that the EFCC failed to provide prima facie evidence linking the properties to any unlawful activity or specific offence, as required under the law.

Daudu said Properties Nos. 9 and 18 were included in Malami’s CCB declarations in 2019 and 2023, adding that the declarations themselves constituted prima facie proof of lawful ownership.

Naija News understands that Justice Inyang Ekwo, sitting as a vacation judge on January 6, granted EFCC’s ex parte application for the temporary forfeiture of 57 properties said to be linked to Malami.

The EFCC’s counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), had told the court that the assets were proceeds of suspected unlawful activities. The judge also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily, giving any interested party 14 days to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.