EFCC TO APPEAL RULING ON NINE PROPERTIES LINKED TO MALAMI
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By: Fasasi Hammad
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced plans to appeal a Federal High Court ruling that rejected its application for the final forfeiture of nine properties linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The 2026 symposium, themed “Asset Recovery and the Rule of Law – Taking the Profit Out of Crime,” brought together law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors and experts from different countries to discuss strategies for recovering proceeds of crime.
Olukoyede said the EFCC had traced 57 properties to Malami and secured final forfeiture orders on 48 of them.
He said the commission was considering an appeal over the remaining nine properties located in Kebbi and Kaduna states, following the court’s decision that the EFCC failed to establish that they were acquired through unlawful means.
According to him, the investigation into Malami followed reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office during his tenure as Attorney-General.
He said the commission would pursue the appeal in an effort to secure forfeiture of the remaining properties.
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The development followed a July 15 ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to the former AGF. The properties had earlier been placed under an interim forfeiture order in January.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the EFCC had established sufficient grounds for the final forfeiture of the 48 properties, which the commission alleged were proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, the judge dismissed the application concerning the nine properties in Kebbi and Kaduna states, holding that the EFCC had not sufficiently established that they were acquired through unlawful means.
Olukoyede said the commission’s use of civil forfeiture had enhanced its ability to recover suspected proceeds of crime without waiting for criminal trials to conclude.
He identified effective asset tracing, credible intelligence and judicial support as key factors in successful non-conviction-based asset recovery.
The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission would reward whistleblowers with between 2.5 per cent and five per cent of recovered assets when information supplied by them leads to the recovery of stolen Nigerian funds or properties.
He urged members of the public, particularly those with information on assets allegedly moved abroad, to provide credible intelligence to the commission.
Olukoyede said the incentive was designed to encourage greater public participation in efforts to trace and recover illicitly acquired Nigerian assets.
He stressed that credible intelligence from the public remained crucial to tracing suspected illicit assets, especially those transferred across international borders.
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