The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, has reassigned the money laundering trial and the civil forfeiture suit involving former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
The reassignment affects both the criminal case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the civil action seeking the forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to unlawful proceeds.
According to court sources, the forfeiture suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/20/2026 will now come up on February 12, while the criminal trial, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, has been fixed for February 16.
Malami, alongside his wife, Hajia Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz, is expected to be re-arraigned before Justice Egwuatu on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering involving over N8.7bn.
Legal practitioners explained that the reassignment means the cases will begin afresh, in line with judicial practice, unless parties agree otherwise.
The trio were initially arraigned on December 30, 2025, before Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge, and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their arraignment, Malami and his son were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while his wife was remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre. They were later admitted to N500m bail each on January 7, with two sureties in like sum.
Earlier, on January 6, Justice Nwite ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to Malami, following an ex parte application by EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN).
The properties, said to be worth billions of naira, are located across Abuja, Kano, Kebbi and Kaduna states.
The court also directed the anti-graft agency to publish the forfeiture order in a national daily, inviting interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
However, Malami has challenged the forfeiture proceedings, urging the court to dismiss the suit. In a motion filed on January 27 by his legal team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN), the former AGF accused the EFCC of suppressing material facts and misleading the court to obtain the interim order.
He argued that the forfeiture suit amounted to duplicative litigation and an infringement on his fundamental rights, including the presumption of innocence and the right to property.
In a related development, Malami and his son are also facing a separate five-count charge by the Department of State Services over alleged terrorism-related offences before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
The reassignment is expected to reset proceedings in both the criminal and civil cases as the Federal Government intensifies its crackdown on high-profile corruption and financial crimes.
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