The Nigerian Law Society has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to allocate one of the properties seized from former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, for use as the headquarters of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
The request was made in a letter dated January 7, 2027, and addressed to Justice Emeka Nwite, who is presiding over the matter. The letter was signed by the society’s Executive Director, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, and its President, Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu.
Justice Nwite had on Tuesday ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties linked to Malami and two of his sons, Abdulaziz and Abiru-Rahman, following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The properties, valued at about ₦213.2 billion, are located across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states, and are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
In its letter, the Nigerian Law Society specifically requested that Property No. 3130, located in Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, Abuja, be allocated to the NCC. The property, purchased in January 2021 for ₦360 million, consists of terrace buildings.
The lawyers said the request was being made as restitution and compensation under Sections 319, 320 and 321 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, noting that the NCC operates under the Federal Ministry of Justice.
They argued that the commission has never had a dedicated headquarters since its establishment in the 1980s and currently occupies multiple office spaces within the Federal Secretariat complex in Abuja.
According to the society, Malami, who supervised the NCC during his tenure as minister of justice from 2015 to 2023, failed to address the commission’s long-standing accommodation challenges despite having access to confiscated properties recovered by anti-graft agencies.
Dr Jaja, a former chairman of the NCC board, said the request was made in the public interest and aimed at strengthening the commission’s operational capacity.
Malami is currently standing trial before Justice Nwite over alleged ₦8.7 billion money laundering, alongside his wife, Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz.
