By Kamsi Anayo
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of about 48 properties linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik granted the forfeiture application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), holding that Malami and others laying claim to the assets failed to prove that they lawfully acquired them.
Before delivering the substantive judgement, the judge dismissed several applications, motions on notice and objections filed by Malami, his family members and some companies claiming ownership of the properties. The judge said they all lacked 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 her, the respondents had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”
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 of properties. EFCC had presented 57 properties linked to Mr Malami for final forfeiture.
The final forfeiture does not amount to criminal conviction or guilt of anyone, as Malami, his wife and son are jointly facing charges some of which involve illegitimate acquisition of funds with suspicious origins.
The EFCC instituted the civil forfeiture proceedings in January, seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, which it alleged were proceeds of unlawful activities linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
On 16 January, during the Federal High Court’s annual vacation, vacation judge Emeka Nwite granted an interim forfeiture order over the properties.
He also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper for anyone with an interest in the assets to appear before the court and show cause why they should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The properties are located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
Following the publication, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami, his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, and several companies linked to the properties filed objections.
They urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application and set aside the interim forfeiture order, arguing that it was wrongly granted.
They also argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and any unlawful activity.
