Court Fixes Date To Hear Diezani’s Suit Against EFCC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled October 23rd as the date for the hearing of a lawsuit brought by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. 

The suit challenges the order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of her seized assets.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Wednesday after Alison-Madueke’s lawyer, Benson Igbanoi, and EFCC’s counsel, M.D. Baraya regularised their processes in the suit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the anti-corruption agency had planned to conduct public sale of all the assets seized for being proceeds of crime as ordered by courts to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The auctioning exercise, conducted on the seized assets believed to include Diezani’s property, started on January 9.

The immediate-past chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had recently revealed that $153 million and over 80 property had been recovered from Alison-Madueke.

She was alleged to have escaped to the United Kingdom and remained there after her exit from public office as the petroleum minister, an office she held between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

But the ex-minister, in her suit, sought an order extending the time within which to seek leave to apply to the court for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice issued to conduct public sale on her property.

In the motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023 dated and filed on January 6 by her lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the former minister sought five orders from the court.

While Alison-Madueke is the applicant, the EFCC is the sole respondent in the suit.

But the EFCC, in a counter affidavit deposed to by Rufai Zaki, a detective with the commission, urged the court to dismiss her application.

Mr Zaki, who was a member of the team that investigated a case of criminal conspiracy, official corruption and money laundering against the ex-minister and some other persons involved in the case, said investigation had clearly shown that she was involved in some acts of criminality.

He said Alison-Madueke was therefore charged before the court in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018.

“We hereby rely on the charge FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 dated 14th November, 2018 filed before this honourable court and also attached as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.

The EFCC operative, who said he had seen the ex-minister’s motion, said most of the depositions were untrue.

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