Court Orders Final Forfeiture of University, Radio Station, 46 Other Assets Linked to Malami
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, secured the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Delivering judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, held that the Commission had successfully established that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and were not acquired from lawful sources of income.
Among the assets forfeited are Rayhaan University, Kebbi State, including its permanent, temporary and third sites, the Vice Chancellor’s House and Rayhaan Radio along Sani Abacha Bypass Road, Birnin Kebbi. Also listed are the Rayhaan Agro Allied Factory, factory buildings, machines, staff quarters, and the Rayhaan Bustan Building. At Azbir Arena, Kebbi, the court ordered the forfeiture of Azbir Hotel, Printing Press, Gallery, Gardens, Mosque, Clothing, Pharmacy and Supermarket.
Other properties include high-value real estate in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Kebbi. They include a luxury duplex at Amazon Street, Maitama; a two-winged three-storey building at Onitsha Crescent, Garki; Plot 683, Jabi, now Meethaq Hotels Ltd with 53 rooms; properties at Asokoro, Rhine Street, Maitama, and Yakubu Gowon Crescent. In Kano, assets include No. 4 Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, and the 131-room Zeennoor Hotel and Mosque at Kabuga Satellite Town. Also forfeited are 200 hectares of land along Birnin Kebbi–Jega Road, commercial plazas, shops at Wuse Market and Vegas Mall, and filling stations.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of properties acquired by Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative at Academic Garden City, Birnin Kebbi. These include nine units of three-bedroom bungalows, three units of two-bedroom bungalows, and 5.4 hectares of land sold by the Federal Housing Authority Mortgage Bank.
It would be recalled that on January 6, 2026, Justice Emeka Nwite had granted an interim forfeiture order following an ex parte motion by EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN. In compliance, the EFCC published the order in national dailies, inviting interested persons to show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited.
Following the publication, Malami, SAN, and 14 other persons, mainly family members and associates, filed applications to show cause and to set aside the interim order. They challenged the court’s jurisdiction and urged it not to grant final forfeiture. The case was heard by Justice Abdulmalik on May 27, 2026, before judgment was reserved.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that the EFCC sufficiently established reasonable suspicion that the 48 properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The judge said the respondents failed to discharge the evidential burden placed on them, as they could not show legitimate sources of funds used to acquire the assets. “The respondents merely claimed ownership without providing proof of how they acquired them with funds from lawful sources,” the court held.
According to the court, non-conviction-based forfeiture proceedings require respondents to adduce evidence of lawful sources of funds, not just bare assertions of ownership. The EFCC said the forfeited assets are now in the custody of the Federal Government, while investigations into related matters continue.
