The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to the Federal Government.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully established the "reasonable suspicion" required under the law to warrant the permanent forfeiture of the assets.

The court held that Malami, his family members and companies associated with the properties failed to rebut the EFCC's claim that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

Before delivering the substantive judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by the respondents, describing them as lacking merit.

She emphasised that the case was not about ownership of the properties but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire them.

"The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the property," the judge said.

Justice Abdulmalik further held that the respondents had "not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities."

Relying on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the court granted the EFCC's application for the final forfeiture of the properties. However, it discharged the interim forfeiture order on some of the assets.

The anti-graft agency had, in January, filed civil forfeiture proceedings seeking the permanent forfeiture of 57 properties valued at N212.8 billion, alleging they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the former AGF.

On January 16, Justice Emeka Nwite, sitting as a vacation judge, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties to appear before the court and show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.

The affected properties are located in Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.

Following the publication, Malami, his wife, Nana Hadiza Malami; his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami; and several companies linked to the properties challenged the interim forfeiture order.

They maintained that the assets were lawfully acquired and argued that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the properties and the alleged unlawful activities.

The respondents further contended that the commission relied on speculation rather than credible evidence, insisting it neither proved that the properties were proceeds of crime nor identified any specific criminal offence from which they were allegedly derived.

After the court resumed from its annual vacation, the matter was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik for hearing and determination.

During the proceedings, counsel for the EFCC argued that investigations revealed the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and held in the names of individuals and companies acting as fronts for Malami.

The commission also maintained that under the law governing civil forfeiture proceedings, it was only required to establish reasonable suspicion rather than prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

After the parties adopted their final written addresses in May, the court reserved judgment.

The judgment, initially scheduled for July 6, was postponed twice before Justice Abdulmalik delivered the final ruling on Wednesday.