The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a final court order forfeiting 48 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to the Federal Government.
The order was granted on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja after the anti-graft agency successfully convinced the court that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
In her judgment, Justice Abdulmalik held that the EFCC had established, through credible evidence placed before the court, that the assets were not acquired through legitimate sources of income. The court ruled that the Commission had met the legal threshold required for the final forfeiture of the properties under relevant provisions of the law.
The judge further held that no sufficient evidence was presented to rebut the EFCC’s claims or demonstrate that the properties were lawfully acquired, paving the way for their permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government.
The ruling marks a significant victory for the anti-corruption agency in its ongoing efforts to recover assets suspected to have been acquired through illicit means and to strengthen accountability in the management of public resources.
The final forfeiture order means that ownership of the 48 properties has now legally vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria, in accordance with the judgment of the court.
The EFCC has consistently maintained that asset recovery remains a key pillar of its anti-corruption mandate, with recovered assets either returned to rightful owners where applicable or forfeited to the Federal Government in line with judicial orders.
