The former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Thursday sought to amend her legal suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the final forfeiture of her seized assets.
The matter came up before Justice Inyang Ekwo at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Diezani’s counsel, Godwin Iyinbor, representing Prof. Mike Ozekhome’s chambers, informed the court of a motion to amend their processes.
“We have filed a motion to amend our processes and have duly served the EFCC,” Iyinbor stated during the proceedings.
The EFCC, through its counsel, had responded to Diezani’s filings, and the case was adjourned to November 21, 2024, as the presiding judge was unavailable due to a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.
Diezani initially filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, on January 6, 2023, seeking an extension of time to challenge the anti-graft agency’s public notice announcing the sale of her forfeited properties.
She contended that the orders for the forfeiture were issued without jurisdiction and should be nullified.
According to her, the forfeiture orders were obtained through “gross misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, and suppression of material facts.”
She argued that she was neither served with court processes nor given a fair hearing during the proceedings that led to the orders.
“The several applications upon which the courts made the final orders of forfeiture were obtained upon gross misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, concealment, and suppression of material facts. This honorable court has the power to set aside such orders ex debito justitiae, as void orders are as good as if they were never made,” she asserted.
Diezani further stated that the orders violated her constitutional rights to fair hearing and property ownership, claiming that she was unfairly treated.
Meanwhile, the EFCC, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by its detective, Mr. Rufai Zaki, urged the court to dismiss Diezani’s application.
“The investigation conducted by my team revealed that the former minister was involved in acts of criminality, including conspiracy, official corruption, and money laundering,” Zaki alleged.
The EFCC also maintained that most of the forfeiture proceedings were in rem and adhered to due process. “The courts ordered the commission to publish notices in newspapers, inviting any parties to show cause why the properties should not be forfeited before the final orders were made,” Zaki stated.
Citing Exhibit C from Diezani’s affidavit, Zaki pointed out that a lawyer, Nnamdi Awa Kalu, represented the former minister in at least one of the forfeiture cases.
“We humbly rely on the judgment of Justice I.L.N. Oweibo, dated September 10, 2019, which supports our position,” he added.
Zaki also refuted Diezani’s claim that the forfeiture orders were obtained improperly. “The assets in question were lawfully forfeited in 2017, and the orders were not overturned on appeal. The properties have since been disposed of through due process,” he explained.
EFCC records indicate that over $153 million and 80 properties were recovered from Diezani. The agency alleged that the former minister fled to the United Kingdom and has remained there since leaving office in 2015.
Former EFCC chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa previously disclosed, “We recovered $153 million and over 80 properties from the ex-minister during our investigations.”
Diezani served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
