Justice Obiora Egwatu on Thursday recused himself from the Federal High Court proceedings in the asset forfeiture suit involving former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and two others.
The judge announced his decision shortly after counsel announced their appearances, citing personal reasons.
“Ladies and gentlemen, for personal reasons, and for the better interest of justice, I will recuse myself from this case,” he said.
Justice Egwatu subsequently directed that the case file, marked CR/700/2025 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Abubakar Malami (SAN) and two others, be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.
The development comes amid an ongoing legal battle over 57 properties valued at about ₦213.2 billion, which were last month ordered to be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.
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Justice Emeka Nwite had, on January 6, granted an interim forfeiture order following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleged that the assets are suspected proceeds of unlawful activities linked to Malami and his sons.
The properties comprise university buildings, hotels, plazas, filling stations, residential estates and expansive parcels of land located in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states. The EFCC said the assets were reasonably suspected to have been illicitly acquired.
Justice Nwite also directed the anti-graft agency to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper and invite interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.
Malami has challenged the interim order, maintaining that his assets were lawfully acquired and duly declared to relevant authorities.
He urged the court to dismiss the proceedings, warning against what he described as conflicting outcomes and duplicative litigation. He further argued that the action infringed on his constitutional rights to property, presumption of innocence and family life.
The former AGF also sought an order restraining the EFCC from interfering with his ownership and control of three properties listed as numbers 9, 18 and 48 in the commission’s application, stating that one of the assets is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
