Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has fired back at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with a comprehensive 40-page affidavit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the interim forfeiture order that handed the anti-graft agency control of more than 50 properties linked to him, his family, and 14 companies, and insisting that every asset was acquired with legitimate funds and properly declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The legal challenge came after Justice Emeka Nwite granted the EFCC an interim forfeiture order on January 6, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026, temporarily placing houses, hotels, schools, factories, and plots of land across Abuja, Kano, and Kebbi under commission control following an ex parte motion that claimed the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Malami’s sworn response categorically denied that claim. “There is no prima facie evidence,” the affidavit stated, asserting that every property was purchased with legitimate funds and declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau well before the EFCC moved against him.
To support his position, the former minister laid out N15.5 billion in lawful income earned between 2015 and 2023, comprising N374.6 million in salary and allowances as AGF, N10.01 billion in business turnover, N3.52 billion in bank loans, N958 million in wedding gifts, and N509.8 million realised from two book launches.
Companies named in the proceedings included Rayhaan Hotels, Zeennoor Hotels, Meethaq Hotels, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied, Azbir Arena, and Rayhaan University.
Malami accused the EFCC of inflating property valuations to mislead the court, citing stark discrepancies between the commission’s figures and actual transaction prices. A Maitama duplex the commission valued at N5.95 billion was in fact purchased for N500 million, the affidavit stated. Rayhaan University’s permanent site, which the EFCC put at N56 billion, had receipts showing a purchase price of N150 million, backed by an independent valuation from Jide Taiwo and Company.
The former AGF tendered four CCB asset declaration forms from 2015, 2019, and 2023 to demonstrate that the disputed properties were on official record long before the court proceedings commenced. He also noted that six assets, including Rayhaan Hotel in Kano and the Malami Support Organisation building, were acquired between 2006 and 2013, before he assumed any ministerial office.
The affidavit turned personal when Malami described armed EFCC operatives evicting his family from six Abuja homes on March 24, 2026, without a final forfeiture order in place. “My wives and children, who are minors, were chased out,” he stated, adding that title documents were seized during his 25-day detention in December 2025.
The interim order had already begun to damage his businesses. NEXIM Bank recalled a N1.122 billion loan to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied days after the court ruling, and Zenith Bank, which guaranteed the facility, began charging daily interest on the outstanding balance.
On the criminal angle, Malami addressed the forfeiture proceedings’ linkage to Charge No. FHC/CR/700/2025, noting that he had pleaded not guilty and that the allegations remained contested and unresolved.
Outside the court, his lead counsel, J.B. Daudu, described the interim order as based on speculation rather than evidence. The EFCC declined to comment on the new filings. Justice Nwite is expected to set a hearing date to determine whether to lift the interim order or make it permanent, with the hotels, schools, and properties remaining in EFCC custody in the interim.
