The former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is facing money laundering allegations, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the seizure of her assets by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
It will be recalled that Diezani who served as a Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, ran out of the country in 2015.
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EFCC had on January 24, 2022, persuaded the high court to issue a warrant for her arrest, insisting that she refused to return back to the country to answer to multiple charges that pending against her.
The anti-graft agency which said its investigations revealed that the erstwhile Minister was hiding in the United Kingdom, UK, also secured orders for final forfeiture of some assets it traced to her.
Some of the seized assets located in highbrow Banana Island Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, included 18 flats and six penthouses at Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista, Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout.
Others are; 125 pieces of wedding gowns, 13 pieces of small gowns, 41 pieces of waist trainers, 73 pieces of hard flowers, 11 pieces of suits, 11 pieces of invisible bra, 73 pieces of veils, 30 pieces of braziers, two pieces of standing fans, 17 pieces of magic skits, six packets of blankets, one table blanket and 64 pairs of shoes.
However, the former Minister, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, which she filed through her team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is praying the court to vacate the final forfeiture order on her seized assets.
She further prayed the court extend the time within which she could seek leave to apply for an order to set aside a public notice the EFCC issued for the purpose of conducting the public sale of her properties.
The EFCC had announced its decision to sale some of the forfeited assets, following judgements and orders it secured from various courts.
However, in her fresh suit, the former Petroleum Minister challenged the move, contending that the various court orders were made without jurisdiction and therefore ought to be set aside.
She argued that she was not granted fair hearing in all the proceedings that led to the court orders.
The EFCC was cited as the sole Respondent in the suit.
According to the Applicant, “The various court orders issued in favour of the Respondent and upon which the respondent issued the public notice to conduct public sale of items contained in the public notice most of which court the interest of the applicant 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”.
The former Minister further argued that she was not served with any charge sheet or proof of evidence in any case against her, neither was she furnished with any summons in respect of criminal allegations the EFCC levelled against her.
The Applicant maintained that the courts were misled into making several of the final forfeiture orders against her assets through suppression or non-disclosure of material facts by the anti-graft agency.
“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 and this honourable court has the power to set-aside same ex debito justitiae, as a void order is as good as if it was never made at all.
“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.
Meanwhile, the EFCC, in a counter it filed in opposition to the suit, which was deposed to by one of its detectives, Rufai Zaki, told the court that all the final forfeiture orders were validly obtained.
It told the court that the orders were made with strict compliance with the due process, adding that the ex-Minister had since refused to make herself available to answer to various charges against her.
“We hereby rely on the charge, FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 dated 14th November, 2018, filed before this honourable court and also attached as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit”.
EFCC told the court that it duly complied with the order mandating it to do a newspaper publication in respect of the properties that were eventually forfeited to the Federal Government, adding that one Nnamdi Awa Kalu had appeared for the ex-Minister in one of the assets forfeiture proceedings.
More so, it told the court that the property that is subject to the instant application by Deizani, had since been sold off.
When the matter was mentioned on Monday, Oluchi Uche who appeared for the Applicant sought time to respond to EFCC’s counter-affidavit.
Her application was not opposed by counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Farouk Abdullah.
Consequently, trial Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter till May 8.
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