The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the Federal Government after ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) established sufficient grounds to show the assets were suspected proceeds of unlawful activities. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the judgment after no successful legal challenge was made against the interim forfeiture order previously granted by the court.
According to the EFCC, the forfeited assets comprise a wide range of high-value properties spread across Abuja, Kebbi and other parts of northern Nigeria. They include residential duplexes, shopping complexes, hotels, event centres, educational institutions, commercial buildings, warehouses, factories and agricultural facilities. Among the notable assets are Azbir Hotel valued at approximately ₦10.325 billion, a printing press worth about ₦1.05 billion, a gallery valued at ₦581 million, gardens estimated at ₦392 million, a mosque worth ₦252 million, Azbir Clothing valued at ₦350 million, and Azbir Pharmacy and Supermarket estimated at ₦175 million.
The anti-graft agency argued that investigations linked the properties to illicit financial activities and requested their permanent forfeiture under Nigeria’s asset recovery laws. The court agreed that the EFCC had met the legal threshold required to permanently transfer ownership of the assets to the Federal Government.
The judgment forms part of the ongoing corruption and money laundering cases involving Malami, who has consistently denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges filed against him. The forfeiture proceedings are separate from the criminal trial, with the court’s decision focusing solely on the ownership of the identified assets.
The EFCC described the ruling as another significant milestone in its asset recovery campaign, stating that recovered assets would be managed in accordance with existing laws and government regulations. A comprehensive inventory released after the judgment lists all 48 forfeited properties, ranging from hotels and commercial facilities to educational, industrial and agricultural assets located across several states.
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