The Federal High Court in Abuja has shifted judgment in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) application seeking the final forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to July 15.
The judgment, earlier slated for Friday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, was not delivered because the court did not sit.
Justice Abdulmalik had previously fixed July 6 for judgment after counsel for the EFCC and the respondents adopted their final written addresses and presented arguments on the anti-graft agency’s application for the permanent forfeiture of the assets.
The EFCC is asking the court to order the final forfeiture of the 57 properties to the Federal Government, maintaining that they are proceeds of unlawful activities.
Arguing the commission’s case at the last hearing, EFCC counsel, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), relied on a 47-paragraph affidavit supported by 46 documentary exhibits contained in three volumes. He contended that Malami and the other respondents failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the legitimate sources of funds used to acquire the properties.
According to Okutepa, the respondents had “woefully failed to show cause” why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
However, Malami’s counsel, Adedayo Adedeji (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the application, insisting that the assets were lawfully acquired.
Relying on a 109-paragraph counter-affidavit sworn to by the former Attorney-General, Adedeji argued that the respondents had sufficiently demonstrated that the properties were not proceeds of crime.
“The court deals with evidence, not suspicion,” he submitted.
He further argued that the EFCC’s case was largely based on extrajudicial statements that ought to be tested during a criminal trial, adding that the issues before the court could not be fairly resolved without oral evidence, which the court had earlier declined to admit.
Adedeji also maintained that several of the disputed properties were acquired before Malami assumed office as Attorney-General of the Federation and therefore could not reasonably be linked to any alleged criminal conduct during his tenure.
He adopted separate counter-affidavits and further affidavits filed on behalf of the other respondents and companies joined in the suit, urging the court to reject the EFCC’s forfeiture application.
Justice Abdulmalik is now expected to deliver judgment on July 15.