Malami details N15bn earnings to justify acquisition of N212.8bn seized assets

Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has shared details of his sources of income in an effort to justify the legitimate acquisition of 57 assets, valued at N212.8 billion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which are currently under an interim forfeiture order of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In his newly filed application urging the court to lift the interim forfeiture order, Mr Malami listed the values of six sources of income, which by PREMIUM TIMES’ calculation were summed up to about N14.96 billion (N15 billion).

“These streams of income, and the continuing profits generated from the businesses over the years, sufficiently show that the properties sought to be forfeited were acquired through legitimate and lawful means as stated in the asset declaration forms,” his lawyer, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said in the application filed 27 January.

Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered on 6 January an interim forfeiture of the assets at the instance of the EFCC.

To secure the interim forfeiture order, EFCC told the judge that the assets were suspected of being acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities linked to Mr Malami. EFCC said Mr Malami could never have legitimately owned the properties, largely acquired during his eight years in office as the AGF. The commission valued the properties located in Abuja as well as Kaduna, Kano and Kebbi states at N212.8 billion.

The judge ordered EFCC to advertise the order in a daily newspaper to invite anyone interested in the assets to show, within 14 days, why the assets should not be permanently forfeited in favour of the federal government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Monday that Mr Malami filed on 27 January his application to challenge the interim forfeiture order.

The application filed through Mr Daudu accused EFCC of suppressing facts to secure the interim forfeiture order leading to an alleged violation of his rights to acquire property, his presumption of innocence and his right to live in peace with his family.

The application is supported by 14 grounds proffered by Mr Daudu, who is a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

Sources of income

The lawyer broke down Mr Malami’s earnings to justify the legitimacy of the acquisition of the assets by the former AGF.

These six sources of income, according to Mr Daudu, included his earnings of Mr Malami from salaries, estacodes, severance allowance and others, during the period he served as the AGF.

The senior lawyer submitted that Mr Malami copiously declared his source of income in his asset declaration filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to include N374, 630,900 (million) income from salaries, estacodes, severance allowance and others;

“Sitting allowances as a board/committee member of the Federal Judicial Service Commission, Federal Capital Territory Judicial Service Commission, Legal Practitioner Privileges Committee, and a high-powered presidential committee.

“N574, 073, 000 (five hundred and seventy-four million, and seventy three thousand naira) as income generated through disposed assets;

“N10, 017,382,684 (ten billion, seventeen million, three hundred and eighty-two thousand, six hundred and eighty-four thousand naira) turnover from businesses;

“N2, 522, 000, 000 (two billion, five hundred and twenty-two million naira) being loans to businesses;

“N958,000,000 (nine hundred and fifty-eight million naira) as a traditional gift from personal friends.”

Mr Daudu equally explained that a total sum of N509, 880, 000 (five hundred and nine million, eight hundred and eighty thousand naira) was realised as income from the launch and public presentation of a book titled, ‘Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs’ by Mr Malami.

Other arguments

He also specifically singled out the assets listed as Nos. 9, 18, and 48 by the EFCC.

Mr Daudu said Mr Malami had declared the assets listed as Nos. 9, and 18 in his asset declaration forms filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in 2019 and 2023 respectively. Mr Malami assumed office as the AGF in 2015 and left in 2023.

He said property No. 48 is held in trust by the former AGF for the benefit of the estate of his late father, the late Kadi Malami.

“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.

“The declaration above is prima facie evidence of the legitimacy of the acquisition and ownership of the properties,” Mr Daudu wrote.

The three assets include Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa, GRA, Kano, purchased on 31 July 2019. The value of the asset was not stated.

The two others are a duplex with boys’ quarters at No.12, Yalinga Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse Il, Abuja, purchased in October 2018 at N150 million, and ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, bought at N56 million listed as No. 18 and No. 48.

According to the senior lawyer, the order of interim forfeiture is not based on any prima facie establishment of unlawful purpose and is liable to be set aside.

He submitted that the court wrongly granted the order of interim forfeiture against these properties “which were lawfully acquired post appointment of the respondent/applicant and declared with the Code of Conduct Bureau as legitimate assets of the respondent/applicant, in compliance with the 5th Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 2019 and 2023.

“The interim order was obtained ex-parte by suppression of material facts and misrepresentation.

“The interim order for forfeiture was obtained by manifest exaggeration, malicious inflation of the value of the assets, and unreasonable and incompetent valuation deliberately manipulated to mislead the court, negatively affecting its discretion in granting an order based on manipulated facts and conclusions deliberately cooked up by the applicant/respondent (EFCC).

“That there is no prima facie evidence placed before this honourable court by the applicant/respondent (EFCC) to warrant the properties linked to the respondent/applicant (Malami) to be liable for forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“The proper remedy for preventing conflicting outcomes of duplicative litigation is for this honourable court to dismiss or strike out this suit.

“That this proceeding is an assault on the applicant’s fundamental right to property, his presumption of innocence and his right to live in peace with his family,” the counsel submitted.

Mr Malami urged the court to dismiss the suit to prevent “conflicting outcomes of duplicative litigation,” arguing that the proceeding was an assault on his fundamental right to own property, his presumption of innocence and his right to live in peace with his family.

In the application filed on 27 January through Mr Daudu, Mr Malami urged the court to lift the forfeiture orders on properties listed as Nos. 9, 18, and 48 in the schedule of properties attached to the interim order of forfeiture issued on 6 January, “the said properties having been duly declared in the respondent/applicant’s asset declaration forms throughout his tenure as a public officer and No. 48 is held in trust for the Estate of the late Khadi Malami Nassarawa.”

The second prayer in the application sought an order restraining the EFCC “from interfering with the respondent/applicant’s (Malami’s) properties in issue or disturbing the respondent/applicant’s ownership, possession and control thereof in the course of purportedly giving effect to the order of this honourable court made on the 6th of January 2026.”

NAN recalls that Mr Nwite had, on 6 January, adjourned the matter until 27 January for report of compliance on the publication of the interim order for forfeiture.

But the matter could not go on because the case was not on the cause list for the day. The judge told lawyers who had appeared for the proceedings relating to the case that the matter was heard during vacation, and the vacation period having come to an end, the cases taken during the period had been remitted to the chief judge for re-assignment.

Mr Malami, who is facing money laundering charges preferred against him by EFCC, is currently detained by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged discovery of arms in his house during a raid by the EFCC. But Mr Malami, through his media aide, had denied having arms in any of his houses or any property linked to him.

He faces money laundering charges alongside his wife, Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz Malami.

(Premium Times)