Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of inflating the value of his assets to mislead the court and secure an interim forfeiture order.
On January 6, Emema Nwite, judge of federal high court in
Abuja, ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties belonging to Malami,
suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to the EFCC, the properties are valued at
N213,234,120,000.
In the ruling, the judge held that the properties were
reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities
and should be temporarily forfeited to the federal government.
The judge directed the EFCC to publish the interim
forfeiture order in a national daily newspaper, inviting any individual or
organisation with an interest in the assets to appear before the court within
14 days and show cause why a final forfeiture order should not be made.
However, in an affidavit filed before the court on Monday,
the former minister said the anti-graft agency relied on “manifest
exaggeration” and “malicious inflation” of property values.
“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 this honourable
court,” Malami said.
The former AGF cited multiple examples where he claimed the
EFCC’s valuation far exceeded actual purchase prices or independent
assessments.
He said a luxury duplex in Maitama, Abuja, acquired for N500
million, was valued by the EFCC at N5.95 billion.
Similarly, he said the permanent site of Rayhaan University,
purchased for N150 million, was valued at N56 billion by the commission.
He also challenged the valuation of the university’s
temporary site, which he said was acquired for N400 million but assessed by the
EFCC at N37.8 billion.
Malami said an independent valuation by estate firm Jide
Taiwo & Co showed significantly lower figures than those presented by the
EFCC.
‘ASSETS HAVE NO LINK TO CRIME’
The former minister also argued that the EFCC failed to
establish any connection between the assets and criminal activities.
“There is no prima facie evidence showing that my properties
are liable for interim forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and no
acquisition of any of the properties is linked to a predicate offence,” he
said.
He added that the commission did not present any document
showing that the properties were acquired with proceeds of crime or funds
belonging to the federal government.
Malami said the assets had been declared in his filings with
the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) across multiple years, including 2015, 2019
and 2023.
“I declared all the aforementioned properties and my
interest in the respective Companies who own some of the assets listed above in
the asset declaration form for public officers form CCB 1 at the beginning of
my first tenure in 2015, on 12/10/2015. Secondly, at the end of my first tenure
in the year 2019, on 30th July, 2019, thirdly, at the inception of my second
term of office as the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation in 2019, on
3rd October, 2019, and at the end of my 2nd tenure in 2023, on 26th June,
2023,” the affidavit reads.
He also outlined several sources of his income, including
earnings from legal practice, business ventures, asset sales, and gifts.
According to him, his businesses generated over N10 billion
in turnover between 2015 and 2023, while N574 million came from disposed
assets.
He further listed N958 million received as legitimate gifts
and N509 million realised from book launches.
Malami said all funds used to acquire the properties were
traceable to legitimate sources.
“Every kobo utilised in the acquisition of the properties
are fully traceable to lawful earnings,” he said.
The former AGF is praying the court to set aside the
forfeiture order, arguing that it was based on speculation rather than
evidence.
“The law does not permit forfeiture on conjecture,
suspicion, or unsubstantiated allegations,” he said.
The case is expected to continue before the court.
Malami is also facing two separate criminal charges before
another judge of the Abuja federal high court. One of the cases bothers on
money laundering, while the other borders on illegal possession of firearms.
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