₦8.7bn Money Laundering Case: Malami’s Trial, Asset Forfeiture Suit Reassigned to New Judge in Abuja
The alleged ₦8.7 billion money laundering case involving former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has been reassigned to a new judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, alongside a connected asset forfeiture suit involving dozens of properties allegedly linked to the former minister, PulseNets has learnt.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, late last year, filed criminal charges against Malami, his son Abdulaziz Malami, and Hajia Bashir Asabe, who was described as an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, a firm reportedly associated with the ex-Attorney General.
PulseNets learnt that the anti-graft agency is accusing the defendants of conspiring to launder about ₦8.7 billion through the indirect acquisition and retention of properties and funds alleged to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The charges are said to be anchored on alleged violations of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts of 2011 (as amended) and 2022.
Court documents obtained by PulseNets show that the defendants were first arraigned on December 30 before Justice Emeka Nwite, who was sitting as the vacation judge at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court. On January 6, Justice Nwite also granted an ex parte application by the EFCC for the interim forfeiture of 57 properties alleged to have been unlawfully acquired by Malami.
However, in accordance with standard court procedure, the matters were returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court at the end of the vacation period for reassignment.
PulseNets confirmed that both the criminal charge and the asset forfeiture suit have now been reassigned to Justice Obiora Egwuatu. The forfeiture proceedings have been fixed for hearing on February 12, while the substantive money laundering case is scheduled for arraignment on February 16.
Meanwhile, Malami has taken steps to challenge the interim forfeiture order placed on his assets. In a motion filed through his lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the former AGF urged the court to vacate the January 6 order, arguing that it was wrongly granted.
PulseNets reported that Malami is specifically seeking the release of three of the 57 properties affected by the interim forfeiture. The properties include Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, purchased on July 31, 2019; a four-bedroom duplex with boys’ quarters at No. 12, Yalinga Street, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, acquired in October 2018 for ₦150 million; and the ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building, reportedly purchased for ₦56 million.
In his application, Malami argued that the properties listed as numbers 9, 18 and 48 in the EFCC’s schedule are not linked by any prima facie evidence to proceeds of unlawful activity or to any specific criminal offence. He told the court that properties numbered 9 and 18 were duly declared in his asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in 2019 and 2023.
He further maintained that the property listed as number 48 is held by him in trust for the estate of his late father, the late Kadi Malami.
According to Malami, the assets in question, their values, and their sources of acquisition were fully disclosed in his asset declarations over the years, which he described as prima facie evidence of their legitimacy.
The former AGF also outlined what he described as multiple lawful income streams declared to the CCB, including ₦374.6 million from salaries, estacodes, severance allowances and related earnings; ₦574.07 million from disposed assets; over ₦10 billion in business turnover; ₦2.52 billion in loans to businesses; and ₦958 million received as traditional gifts from personal friends.
He added that about ₦509.88 million was realised from the launch and public presentation of his book, “Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs.”
Malami argued that these earnings sufficiently explain the acquisition of the properties listed for forfeiture and insisted that the interim order was made without any prima facie establishment of unlawful conduct.
He further accused the EFCC of suppressing material facts and misrepresenting information in securing the ex parte order, alleging that the agency exaggerated and maliciously inflated the value of the assets in order to mislead the court.
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Malami also contended that, to avoid parallel proceedings and the risk of conflicting judicial outcomes, the appropriate step would be for the court to dismiss or strike out the forfeiture suit.
Both matters are expected to come up before Justice Egwuatu later this month, PulseNets learnt.
