Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has told a court that his wealth came from salaries, business earnings, asset sales, loans and gifts from friends, as he tries to overturn an interim court order connected to the seizure of 57 properties allegedly linked to him.
Malami, who served as Nigeria’s chief law officer and justice minister, presented the details through his lawyer, Joseph Daudu. The lawyer made the disclosure in a motion on notice filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, asking the court to set aside an interim order affecting three out of the 57 properties earlier seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In the court filing, Daudu said Malami had already stated his income sources in his asset declaration submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau, the government body responsible for collecting asset declarations from public officials.
According to the motion, Malami listed the following as his sources of income:
₦374,630,900 as income from salaries, estacodes, severance allowance and other official earnings.
₦574,073,000 as income generated from disposed assets.
₦10,017,382,684 as turnover from private businesses.
₦2,522,000,000 as loans to businesses.
₦958,000,000 as traditional gifts from personal friends.
₦509,880,000 as income realised from the launch and public presentation of his book titled “Contemporary Issues on Nigerian Law and Practice, Thorny Terrains in Traversing the Nigerian Justice Sector: My Travails and Triumphs.”
The motion is part of Malami’s bid to persuade the court to lift the interim order relating to the three properties, while the wider forfeiture process involving the 57 properties continues.