Former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside the interim forfeiture order granted against three properties the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly said he acquired through unlawful means.
The properties, listed as Nos. 9, 18, and 48 in the EFCC’s ex parte motion, are among 57 assets the commission disclosed linked to him and which the court ordered temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government on January 6, 2026.
In a motion on notice filed by his legal team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), Malami insisted the affected properties were lawfully acquired and duly declared in his Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) asset forms during his time in public office.
“These assets, their value and their root of title have been clearly stated and specifically demonstrated in the various asset declaration forms spanning from 2019 to 2023,” Daudu told the court. He noted that Property No. 48, the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, valued at ₦56 million, was not even personally owned by Malami but held in trust for his late father’s estate, Kadi Malami.
Malami’s legal team argued that the EFCC obtained the interim order by suppressing material facts and misrepresenting the ownership status of the properties. “The proceeding is an assault on the applicant’s right to property, his presumption of innocence, and right to live in peace with his family,” the motion stated.
The former AGF is seeking two reliefs from the court: “An order vacating the interim forfeiture order against the three properties, Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Kano (No. 9); a duplex in Wuse II, Abuja (No. 18); and the ADC Foundation Building (No. 48).
