Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to overturn an order from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission calling for the complete forfeiture of her seized assets.
In an originating motion obtained by journalists on Monday, Alison-Madueke requested an extension of time to apply to the court for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice to hold a public sale on her property.
According to its public notice, the EFCC intended to hold a public sale of all of the assets it had seized from Alison-Madueke starting on January 9. This was in response to a number of court judgments and orders that had been issued in favor of the commission as final forfeiture orders against the property and personal effects of the former minister.
The former minister, as noted in the motion: Her attorney, Dr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), filed FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023 on January 6 and requested five orders from Justice Inyang Ekwo.
The EFCC is the only respondent in the suit, despite the fact that Alison-Madueke is the applicant.
These “ought to be set aside ex debito justitiae,” according to the former minister, who argued that the various orders were issued without jurisdiction.
She claimed that she was not afforded a fair hearing in all of the processes that led to the orders.
According to Ozekhome, “the various court orders issued in favor of the respondent and upon which the respondent issued the public notice to conduct a public sale of items contained in the public notice were issued in breach of the applicant’s right to fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as altered, and other similar constitutional provisions.” Ozekhome stated that the public notice was issued in response to the various court orders.
He claims that Alison-Madueke was not given the charge sheet, evidence, or any other summons regarding the criminal charges against her that were pending in court.
Additionally, he argued that the suppression or nondisclosure of material facts led the courts to issue several final forfeiture orders against her assets.
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Zaki, who was on the team that looked into a case involving official corruption, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy against the ex-minister and other people involved, said that the investigation had clearly shown that she was involved in some crimes.
He stated, “We hereby rely on the charge FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 dated November 14, 2018, filed before this court and also attach as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit.” This charge was filed before this court.
The majority of the depositions, according to the EFCC agent who claimed to have seen the motion from the former minister, were false.
Contrary to her testimony in the supporting affidavit, he claims that the majority of the cases that resulted in the final forfeiture of the contested property were “actions in rem,” which were heard and decided by the court.