A Nigerian court has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former attorney-general and justice minister Abubakar Malami to the government after finding they were suspected proceeds of crime, court documents show.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in the capital Abuja said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had shown that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through illicit means and not from lawful income.
Malami, Nigeria’s chief law officer from 2015 to 2023, is facing 16 counts of money laundering and conspiracy involving billions of naira (hundreds of millions of dollars), brought by the EFCC. He has previously pleaded not guilty.
An interim order on July 1 gave interested parties 14 days to show why the properties should not be finally forfeited to the government. That deadline expired on Tuesday.
Assets listed include a luxury Abuja duplex, a university campus, an agro-allied factory and other properties in the north of the country.
