A former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has sought to amend her suit challenging a court order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for final forfeiture of her seized assets.
Alison-Madueke, in an originating process filed through her counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had asked the court to set aside the EFCC’s public notice issued to conduct a public sale on her property.
In the motion dated January 6, 2023, the former minister argued that the various orders were made without jurisdiction, hence they “ought to be set aside ex debito justitiae.”
The former minister said she was not given a fair hearing, notified about the proceedings leading to the orders, or served with the court processes.
“The orders were made without recourse to the constitutional right to fair hearing and right to property accorded the applicant by the constitution.
“The applicant was never served with the processes of court in all the proceedings that led to the order of final forfeiture,” she added.
But the EFCC, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by Mr Rufai Zaki, a detective with the commission, urged the court to dismiss her application.
Zaki, a member of the team that investigated a case of criminal conspiracy, official corruption and money laundering against the ex-minister and others, said the investigation clearly showed that she was involved in some acts of criminality.
He said that 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 14 November 2018, filed before this honourable court and also attached as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.
The EFCC operative said most of the depositions in Mrs Alison-Madueke’s suit were untrue.
He said that contrary to her deposition in the affidavit filed in support of the suit, most of the cases which led to the final forfeiture of the contested property, “were action in rem, same was heard at various times and determined by this honourable court.”
He said that the courts ordered the commission to do a newspaper publication inviting parties to show cause why the said property should not be forfeited to the federal government before final orders were made.
Zaki argued that one Nnamdi Awa Kalu represented the ex-minister in reaction to one of the forfeiture applications.
“We humbly rely on the judgment of Hon. Justice I.LN. Oweibo dated 10th September 2019, shown in Exhibit C of the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.
The officer said that contrary to Alison-Madueke’s claim, the final forfeiture of the assets was ordered by the court in 2017 and was not set aside or upturned on appeal.
According to him, the properties were disposed of through due process of law.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Godwin Iyinbor, counsel to Alison-Madueke, said he had received a counter affidavit filed by the EFCC in opposition to the suit.
He also informed the court that they had filed a motion to amend their processes and that the commission had been duly served.
The EFCC, however, had no legal representation in court when Alison-Madueke’s counter affidavit was presented on Thursday.
The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, adjourned the matter to February 17, 2025, for hearing.
An auction exercise conducted on seized assets believed to include Alison-Madueke’s property started on January 9, 2023.
The suspended former chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had revealed that $153m and over 80 properties had been recovered from the ex-minister.
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.
The asset-related suit is different from the one Alison-Madueke filed seeking N100bn as compensation for a series of EFCC’s alleged libellous publications against her.