Federal High Court orders forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney-General Malami

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC had established reasonable suspicion, and Malami, his family members, and associated companies failed to disprove the allegation that the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The court clarified that the issue was the legitimacy of the funds used for acquisition, not ownership. The EFCC had previously obtained an interim forfeiture order for these properties in January 2026, which were valued at approximately N213.2 billion.

These assets, located across the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna states, include hotels, residential buildings, commercial plazas, schools, factories, a university, filling stations, warehouses, and large parcels of land. While nine properties were excluded from the final forfeiture, the list of the 57 properties initially covered by the interim order includes various high-value assets such as luxury duplexes, hotels like Meethaq Hotels Ltd and Zeennoor Hotel, Rayhaan University, Rayhaan Agro Allied Factory, and Azbir Arena, among others.