Malami: Court grants interim forfeiture of 57 properties worth N213.2b

By : Yetunde Ayobami Ojo, Ameh Ochojila, Tunde Omolehin

Date: 8 January 2026 4:20am WAT

Share :

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami

• Ex-AGF raises alarm over alleged planned re-arrest by DSS • EFCC warns of coordinated smear campaigns ahead of 2027 elections

A federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and two of his sons, Abdulaziz Malami and Abiru-Rahman Malami, to the Federal Government.   However, Malami raised the alarm over alleged plans by security agencies to re-arrest him upon his release, despite a subsisting court order granting him bail.   Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over what “planned campaigns of calumny” by politicians and interest groups seeking to undermine its investigations and prosecutions.   Justice Emeka Nwite granted the forfeiture order following an ex parte motion moved by counsel to EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN). The multi-billion-naira landed properties, valued at N213,234,120,000, are located in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna states.   In granting the order, Nwite ruled: “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 judge also directed the publication of the interim order of forfeiture in any national daily “inviting any person or body, who may have interest in the properties listed in the schedule to show cause, within 14 days of the publication, why a final order of forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria of the said assets and properties, should not be made.”   He, therefore, adjourned the matter until January 27, 2026, for a report of compliance. Malami, his wife, Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz, are facing an alleged N8.7 billion money laundering charge before Justice Nwite.

The properties include Rayhaan University Buildings, Agro-allied factory buildings, machines, hotels, pharmacies, supermarkets, primary and secondary schools, oil and gas filling stations, shops, and other buildings.

IN a statement yesterday by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, Malami alleged that operatives of government security agencies, particularly the Department of State Services (DSS), mounted surveillance around the Kuje Correctional Service in preparation for a fresh arrest.   According to the statement, the development came weeks after a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) granted Malami bail. But the bail order was allegedly not honoured, as EFCC declined to effect his release, a move his camp described as a deliberate frustration of a valid judicial decision.   The statement further claimed that intelligence available to Malami’s legal team indicated that plans were underway to re-arrest him on what were described as unrelated and trumped-up charges immediately after his release.

EFCC said it uncovered moves by individuals with vested interests in suspects being probed or prosecuted by the commission to sponsor media attacks against its leadership and the institution.   Its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, stated yesterday that attacks were aimed particularly at its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to distract the agency.    According to the EFCC, the alleged campaign involves “a motley crowd of paid jobbers” drawn from politicians, academics, self-styled civil society activists and some Nigerian fugitives in the Diaspora, who have been recruited to spread “phantom allegations” of political bias.   “Their objective is to befuddle the works of the commission and, through scaremongering, intimidate the commission into a timid mode,” the statement reads.   The EFCC warned that the campaign is expected to intensify as the country moves closer to the 2027 general election, a period it said is often marked by heightened political tension and attempts to discredit anti-corruption efforts.

Tags: