Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court on Thursday recused himself from the asset forfeiture proceedings involving former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and two others, citing personal reasons and the interest of justice.
The judge announced his decision shortly after counsel for the parties entered their appearances in the matter.
“For personal reasons, and for the better interest of justice, I will recuse myself from this case,” Justice Egwuatu said.
He subsequently directed that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.
“The instant charge CR/700/2025 filed FRN vs Abubakar Malami (SAN) and two others shall be returned to the Chief Judge for further directives,” he held.
The recusal comes amid ongoing proceedings over 57 properties valued at about ₦213.2 billion, which had earlier been ordered to be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.
The interim forfeiture order was granted on January 6 by Justice Emeka Nwite 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 include university buildings, hotels, plazas, filling stations, residential estates and parcels of land located in Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states. The EFCC maintains that the assets are reasonably suspected to have been illicitly acquired.
Justice Nwite had also directed the anti-graft agency to publish a notice in a national newspaper inviting any interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.
Malami has challenged the interim forfeiture order, insisting that his assets were legitimately acquired and duly declared to the relevant authorities. He urged the court to dismiss the proceedings, warning against what he described as conflicting outcomes and duplicative litigation.
The former AGF also asked the court to restrain the EFCC from interfering with his ownership, possession and control of three properties listed in the application, maintaining that one of them is held in trust for the estate of his late father, Kadi Malami.
