Abuja, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Abuja has warned that lawyers who deliberately flout court rules to delay proceedings in a high-profile forfeiture case against former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, risk being jailed for contempt.
The warning came from Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Tuesday during a hearing in the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the final forfeiture of 57 properties linked to Mr. Malami and several associates.
Justice Abdulmalik’s remarks followed complaints from the EFCC’s lead counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, who accused some lawyers representing interested parties of deliberately serving court processes late to stall the case. Mr. Okutepa noted that while the suit was filed in January and the interim forfeiture order published on January 9, some lawyers continued to serve him processes as late as April 18 — well after filing their responses.
“This is a deliberate ploy to delay hearing,” Mr. Okutepa told the court. “We are ministers in the temple of justice, and things should be done rightly.”
The judge condemned the conduct as unacceptable and ordered strict compliance with court deadlines. She directed that all interested parties must file and serve their processes on the EFCC’s legal team by April 27, with no late submissions accepted after April 28. The EFCC was given one week to respond to any process served, and respondents were allotted four days to file replies.
Justice Abdulmalik emphasized that failure to comply would have serious consequences: “Anyone who fails to file within time will shoot himself in the foot. I will not take any rascality from any lawyer. If you dare me, I will charge you for contempt, dock and jail you.”
The matter was adjourned to May 26 for the hearing of all outstanding applications.
The EFCC’s forfeiture application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026, is based on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006. The agency alleges the properties are proceeds of unlawful activities and seeks a final order forfeiting them to the Federal Government.
The properties are linked to Mr. Malami, his family members, and several corporate entities, including Rayhaan Bustan and Agro Allied Ltd, Mountain View Gold and Jewellery Ltd, and others.
In January, a sister court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite had ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties following an ex-parte motion by the EFCC. The case was later reassigned to Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who recused himself, before being transferred to Justice Abdulmalik.
Mr. Malami and other respondents have since challenged the EFCC’s civil suit, urging the court to vacate the interim forfeiture order.
The EFCC maintains that the respondents have failed to provide sufficient evidence to warrant the court lifting the interim order, and insists that the properties should be permanently forfeited to the state.
