The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, over suspicion that the assets are proceeds of unlawful activities.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the order on Tuesday following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and moved by its counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN.
The multi-billion-naira properties are located across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states. Although the ruling was delivered on Tuesday, its certified true copy was sighted on Wednesday.
In the ruling, Justice Nwite held: “It is hereby ordered that an interim order of this honourable court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria the properties described in Schedule One below, which are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The judge also directed that the interim forfeiture order be published in a national daily, inviting any individual or organisation with an interest in the listed assets to show cause within 14 days why a final forfeiture order should not be made.
The matter was adjourned to a later date in January for a report on compliance.
Assets Listed for Forfeiture
Among the properties listed in the schedule are:
A luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Plot No. 3011, Cadastral Zone A06, Maitama, Abuja, purchased in December 2022 for ₦500 million, with an enhanced value estimated at ₦5.95 billion.
A two-winged storey building at No. 3 Onitsha Crescent, Area 11, Garki, Abuja (formerly Harmonia Hotels Limited), acquired in December 2018 for ₦7 billion.
Plot 683, Jabi District, Abuja, comprising a five-storey building now operating as Meethaq Hotels Ltd with 53 rooms, acquired in September 2020 at carcass level for ₦850 million, with an estimated completed value of ₦8.4 billion.
Property No. 3 Rhine Street, Maitama, Abuja, housing Meethaq Hotels Ltd with 15 rooms, purchased in February 2018 for ₦430 million and currently valued at about ₦12.95 billion.
Several residential, commercial and hotel properties in Asokoro, Wuse II, Gwarimpa, Apo Legislative Quarters, Kano, Birnin Kebbi and Kaduna, including plazas, warehouses, bungalows, shops and large tracts of land.
The schedule also includes properties acquired through Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative at Academic Garden City, Birnin Kebbi, consisting of multiple housing units and approximately 5.4 hectares of land purchased between February and September 2023.
Ongoing trial
Mr Malami, his wife, Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz, are currently standing trial before Justice Nwite over alleged ₦8.7 billion money-laundering offences.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, the EFCC also named an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Ltd, a firm allegedly linked to the former minister, as a defendant.
The 16-count charge alleges that the defendants carried out suspicious financial transactions and concealed the illicit origin of funds through bank accounts and extensive property acquisitions in Abuja, Kano and Kebbi between 2015 and 2025. The period covers the eight years Mr Malami served as Attorney-General under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired to disguise the origin of funds, acquire properties indirectly and retain proceeds they knew or reasonably ought to have known were derived from unlawful activities, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts of 2011 (as amended) and 2022.
In one of the counts, the anti-graft agency alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, Mr Malami and his son directed Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over ₦1 billion in a Sterling Bank account, knowing the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.
(NAN)
