The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly linked to a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order after granting an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the affected assets are multi-billion-naira landed properties located across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states.
Although the ruling was delivered on Tuesday, a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the order was obtained by NAN on Wednesday.
In his decision, Justice Nwite directed that the listed properties be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government, having been reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The judge further ordered that the interim forfeiture be published in a national newspaper to invite any interested individuals or organisations to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
He thereafter adjourned the matter to Jan. 27 for a report on compliance.
Among the assets listed in the schedule are luxury duplexes, hotels, plazas, warehouses, shopping complexes, residential buildings and parcels of land in Maitama, Asokoro, Garki, Wuse, Jabi, Gwarimpa, Apo Legislative Quarters, Birnin Kebbi and parts of Kano and Kaduna.
Some of the properties were reportedly acquired between 2016 and 2024, with values running into several billions of naira after completion and enhancement.
NAN reports that the forfeiture order is connected to an ongoing criminal trial involving Malami, his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz.
They are currently standing trial before the same court over alleged N8.7 billion money laundering offences.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, the EFCC accused the defendants, alongside an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Ltd, of engaging in multiple suspicious financial transactions.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants used bank accounts and property acquisitions to conceal the unlawful origin of funds across Abuja, Kano and Kebbi states.
The offences were said to have been committed between 2015 and 2025, a period that includes Malami’s eight-year tenure as Attorney-General during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the EFCC, the alleged acts contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts of 2011 (as amended) and 2022.
The commission further alleged that Malami, his wife and son conspired to acquire properties indirectly and retain funds they reasonably ought to have known were proceeds of unlawful activities.
