How I Made My Money: Malami Lists N374m Salaries, N10bn Businesses, N958m Gifts In Fight Against EFCC Forfeiture

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has told the Federal High Court in Abuja how he accumulated his wealth, listing earnings from salaries, business ventures, gifts from friends, asset disposals and book sales, as he moves to overturn an interim forfeiture order obtained against properties allegedly linked to him.

Malami disclosed the details through his lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), in a motion on notice filed before the Federal High Court, seeking to vacate an interim order authorising the seizure of 57 properties by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The interim order directed that the properties be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government pending the determination of the substantive forfeiture proceedings. Malami is specifically asking the court to set aside the order as it relates to three of the affected properties.

In the court filing, Daudu informed the judge that the former Attorney-General had fully and transparently declared his assets and sources of income to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), as required by law, insisting that the properties were lawfully acquired and not proceeds of crime.

According to the motion, Malami declared N374,630,900 as income earned from salaries, estacodes, severance allowances and other official emoluments. He also disclosed N574,073,000 generated from the disposal of personal assets.
A significant portion of the declared income, the lawyer stated, is N10,017,382,684 recorded as turnover from private business interests. In addition, Malami declared N2.522 billion given out as loans to various businesses.

The former Justice Minister further reported receiving N958 million as traditional gifts from personal friends. He also declared N509,880,000 realised from the launch and public presentation of his book titled “Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs.”

Daudu argued that the EFCC failed to place sufficient material before the court to justify the interim forfeiture order, describing the action as premature and oppressive. He maintained that there was no credible link between the seized properties and any alleged criminal activity.

The lawyer further contended that the continued seizure of the properties violates Malami’s constitutional rights to property and fair hearing, urging the court to vacate the interim order in the interest of justice.

The EFCC, however, is pursuing the forfeiture proceedings as part of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption and abuse of office linked to Malami’s tenure as Attorney-General under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The court is expected to fix a date to hear arguments from both parties before deciding whether to uphold or discharge the interim forfeiture order.
The case has attracted significant public attention, given Malami’s former position as the nation’s chief law officer and the scale of the assets under dispute.