Court Orders Interim Forfeiture Of Malami’s 57 Properties Worth Over N212bn

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.

The ruling was issued on Tuesday by Justice Emeka Nwite, over suspicions that the properties were bought with money from unlawful activities.

This comes following an ex parte application from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by lawyer Ekele Iheanacho.

In his ruling, the judge said the assets, valued at billions of naira, are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful acts and should be handed over to the federal government on an interim basis.

“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 1 below, which are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities,” the judged ruled.

He also instructed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper and invited anyone with an interest in the properties to appear in court within 14 days to challenge the order.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter was to January 27 for a report on compliance with the publication.

The forfeiture order comes as Malami, his wife Bashir Asabe, and their son Abubakar Abdulaziz face a criminal trial for alleged money laundering of N8.7 billion at the same court.

KanyiDaily had previously published photos of some of the properties seized by the EFCC.