Malami accuses EFCC of inflating asset values to secure forfeiture order

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.

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.