The Abuja Federal High Court has fixed October 23 to hear a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, challenging the order obtained by the EFCC for the final forfeiture of her seized assets.
The EFCC had planned to conduct public sale of all the assets seized from the former petroleum minister, for being proceeds of crime as ordered by the court to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Diezani was alleged to have escaped to the United Kingdom and remained there after her exit from public office, under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, as the petroleum minister, an office she held between 2010 and 2015.
In her suit, Diezani 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, arguing that the various orders were made without jurisdiction.
In the suit, the former minister stated that she was not given fair hearing in all the proceedings leading to the orders.
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She argued that she was not served with the charge sheet and proof of evidence in respect of the criminal charges pending against her before the court, stating that the courts were misled into making several of the final forfeiture orders against her assets through suppression or non-disclosure of material facts.
But the EFCC, in a counter affidavit, urged the court to dismiss her application, stating that most of the depositions were untrue, as the courts differently 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.
The commission mentioned that the final forfeiture of the assets which were subject of the present application was ordered by the court since 2017 and that this was not set aside or upturned on appeal.
Justice Inyang Ekwo after listening to the submission of the lawyers adjourned for them to regularised their processes in the suit.
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
