The EFCC is seeking a final court order to forfeit 57 multi-billion naira properties allegedly linked to former Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, arguing the assets far exceed his lawful earnings and are proceeds of corruption.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties, valued in the billions, allegedly linked to former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and 14 others. During the proceedings before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the EFCC’s legal team argued that the assets are “reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities” and that Malami’s documented income of approximately ₦89.6 million in salary and ₦253.6 million in estacodes between 2015 and 2023 is “manifestly disproportionate” to the scale of the acquisitions.
Investigator Daniel Adebayo testified that the properties, spread across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna, were allegedly acquired through third parties and front companies to “disguise unlawful origin of the funds,” leading the agency to seek “A final order of this honourable court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the properties described in the schedule below.” Despite challenges from the respondents to vacate the existing interim order, the EFCC maintained that “No sufficient cause has been shown why the properties under the interim forfeiture order should not be finally forfeited,” with the court now scheduled to hear the motion on April 21, 2026.