A suit filed by the former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, challenging the order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of her seized assets was stalled on Monday at a Federal High Court in Abuja. The matter, which was scheduled to be heard by Justice Inyang Ekwo, was fixed for further mention but could not proceed as the court did not sit due to Justice Ekwo attending a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja. The case has been rescheduled for November 21.
Alison-Madueke, represented by her counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has sued the EFCC as the sole respondent in the matter marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023. She is seeking an extension of time to apply for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice for conducting a sale of her property.
In a motion dated January 6, 2023, her legal team sought five orders from the court, arguing that the various orders leading to the forfeiture of her assets were made without jurisdiction and should be set aside ex debito justitiae.
The former minister contended that she was denied a fair hearing during the proceedings that resulted in the orders. She claimed that the court orders, which facilitated the EFCC’s public notice, were issued in violation of her rights to fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution and other related provisions.
Alison-Madueke further asserted that she was not served with the charge sheet or proof of evidence related to the criminal charges pending against her in court. She argued that the courts were misled into granting several final forfeiture orders against her assets through the suppression or non-disclosure of material facts.
“The several applications upon which the courts made the final order of forfeiture against the applicant were obtained upon gross misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, concealment, and suppression of material facts,” she stated, emphasizing that a void order is as good as if it was never made at all.