In what appears to be Nigeria’s largest asset seizures in recent years, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about a fortnight ago made three high-value assets recoveries. 

The recoveries, made through a streak of court orders, included $154.6 million (N212.8 billion) linked to former Attorney-General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, assets worth N8.9 billion linked to a businesswoman Aisha Achimugu, and seven landed properties, $42,045,000, and share certificate linked to former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Godwin Emefiele.

The recoveries made through the instrumentality of Nigeria’s civil forfeiture framework are not merely a breakthrough in the fight against corruption by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope government but also exposes the magnitude and scale of corruption and its deleterious effects on the nation’s economy.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on Thursday, July 16, 2026, ordered the permanent forfeiture of 47 assets linked to Malami, noting that the EFCC had established reasonable grounds to show that the properties were acquired with proceeds suspected to be from unlawful activities rather than legitimate income.

The ruling follows civil forfeiture proceedings filed by the anti-graft agency against 57 properties linked to Malami and companies associated with him. 

While the court granted final forfeiture of 48 properties, it declined to permanently seize nine others after finding that the EFCC had not sufficiently established that they were proceeds of crime.

The assets covered by the forfeiture order included a luxury duplex in Abuja, a university campus, an agro-allied factory, and several residential and commercial properties spread across Northern Nigeria.

In her judgment, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed objections filed by Malami, members of his family, and companies linked to the assets, holding that they failed to rebut the EFCC’s evidence. 

The judge said the central question before the court was not who owned the properties, but whether the funds used to acquire them came from legitimate sources.

She held that the respondents failed to disprove the reasonable suspicion that the assets were acquired through unlawful activities, paving the way for their permanent forfeiture.

The latest ruling marks a significant step in the EFCC’s long-running investigation into Malami, who served as Nigeria’s chief law officer between 2015 and 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

On the same day, another Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie ordered the final forfeiture of assets worth about N8.9 billion linked to Aisha Achimugu to the federal government, marking a significant development in the EFCC asset recovery efforts.

The forfeited assets comprised jewellery valued at N4.65 billion, 11 exotic vehicles worth N4.29 billion, $50,000, and N30 million in cash. 

In his ruling, the judge held that Achimugu failed to dislodge the evidence presented by the EFCC and did not discharge the burden of proving that the assets were acquired from legitimate sources.

The next day, Friday, July 17, the Supreme Court affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2,045,000 and share certificates linked to Emefiele to the federal government. 

Delivering a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos and affirmed the decision of a Federal High Court, Lagos.

Instructively, unlike criminal proceedings, Nigeria’s civil forfeiture framework allows courts to confiscate assets suspected to be proceeds of crime without waiting for the conclusion of a criminal trial. 

Prosecutors must satisfy the court that there are reasonable grounds to believe the assets were acquired through unlawful means, after which affected parties have an opportunity to prove otherwise.

The tripartite judgments reflect the federal government’s continued reliance on civil forfeiture as a key tool in its anti-corruption strategy, particularly in cases involving high-value assets. 

Supporters argue that the approach helps prevent suspected proceeds of crime from being dissipated during lengthy criminal trials, while critics have raised concerns about due process and the need to balance asset recovery with constitutional property rights.

Nevertheless, Blueprint lauds the nation’s foremost anti-graft agency for what it considers a milestone in asset recoveries. 

We, particularly, commend the EFCC for its diligent prosecution of the Malami and Emefiele cases, which led to the most significant asset recoveries involving former senior public officials.

This newspaper, however, urges the anti-graft agency to avoid the injustice of selective prosecution, being alleged by the opposition parties. 

The agency must ensure that the long arm of the law catches up with all suspects of economic and financial crimes in the country, irrespective of their social status or political party affiliations.