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Ex-AGF Malami to Forfeit 48 Properties, Court Rules

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;4 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"KlFvpmOi" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa<&sol;p><div class&equals;"Y5DHpkCc" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties&comma; including a university&comma; linked to Mr Abubakar Malami&comma; former Attorney-General of the Federation&comma; AGF&comma; to the Federal Government&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Joyce Abdulmalik&comma; in a ruling&comma; held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s&comma; EFCC&comma; had been able to prove that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Abdulmalik held that Malami had failed to show that the properties were acquired through lawful sources&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"TTBTB1fu" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Earlier&comma; the judge dismissed several applications&comma; motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Mr Malami&comma; his family members and some companies linked to the properties&comma; describing them as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;wanting in merit&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;4 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;4 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>She held that the issue before the court was not &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;who owns the properties&comma; but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the judge&comma; the respondents had &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the properties were acquired by unlawful activities&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Abdulmalik relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act in granting the final forfeiture order&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The judge&comma; however&comma; vacated the interim forfeiture order in respect of nine other properties sought to be forfeited by the EFCC&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>She held that the anti-graft agency was unable to prove that the nine properties located in Kebbi and Kaduna State were gotten through unlawful activities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Abdulmalik had fixed today for judgment in the forfeiture suit filed by the EFCC against 57 properties linked to Malami&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The anti-graft agency had&comma; in the suit&comma; sought the final forfeiture of the properties for reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Emeka Nwite had&comma; on Jan&period; 16&comma; made an order for interim forfeiture of the 57 properties after Ekele Iheanacho&comma; SAN&comma; moved the motion ex-parte&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The EFCC instituted the suit&comma; seeking the permanent forfeiture of the 57 properties worth N212&period;8 billion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Following the publication of the interim order&comma; Malami&comma; his wife Nana Hadiza&comma; his son&comma; Abdulaziz&comma; and several companies linked to the properties filed objections&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application and set aside the interim forfeiture order&comma; arguing that it was wrongly granted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They also argued that the properties were lawfully acquired and that the EFCC failed to establish any connection between the assets and any unlawful activity&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 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