Deziani seeks to amend asset forfeiture suit against EFCC

The former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke on Thursday, sought to amend the suit she filled before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, challenging the order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of her seized assets.

When the matter came up on Thursday, Alison-Madueke, through her counsel, Godwin Iyinbor of Prof Mike Ozekhome’s chambers, told the trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo that he had received processes from the anti-graft agency and had filed a further affidavit in response.

The lawyer informed the court that they had filed a motion to amend their processes and that the commission had been duly served.

The matter which was previously scheduled to be heard on October 7, 2024, was adjourned till November 21, 2024, as the presiding judge was said to be attending a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.

Diezani had, through her counsel, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN sued EFCC in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, filed on January 6, 2023, where-in she seeks an order of court to extend the time for her to seek leave to apply for an order to set aside the anti-graft agency’s public notice issued to conduct a public sale on her property.

She argued that the various orders were issued without jurisdiction and “ought to be set aside ex debito justitiae”, adding that, she was neither served with the charge sheet and proof of evidence in any of the charges nor any other summons regarding the criminal charges brought against her and maintained that the courts were misled into making several final forfeiture orders on her assets through suppression or non-disclosure of material facts.

According to the former Minister, “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 argued.

Diezani also said, she was not given a fair hearing in the proceedings that led to the issuance of the orders and argued that the orders were issued in breach of her right to fair hearing.

Meanwhile, EFCC, in its counter-affidavit deposed to by Mr Rufai Zaki, a detective with the commission and a member of the team that investigated the case of criminal conspiracy, official corruption and money laundering preferred against Diezani and other persons in the case prayed the court to dismiss her application.

According to Zaki, the investigation conducted by his team clearly showed that, the former minister was involved in some acts of criminality.

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018, dated November 14, 2018, the anti-graft agency claimed that, most of the depositions in Diezani’s suit were untrue.

Hinging his argument on an attached document in the applicant’s affidavit marked Exhibit C, Zaki said 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 added 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 said one Nnamdi Awa Kalu represented the ex-minister in reaction to one of the forfeiture applications.

“We humbly rely on the judgment of Justice I.L.N. Oweibo dated 10th September 2019, shown in Exhibit C of the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.

The officer said, contrary to Diezani’s claim, the final forfeiture of the assets, which were subject to the present application, was ordered by the court in 2017, adding that this was not set aside or upturned on appeal.

According to him, the properties had been disposed of through due process of law.

A former chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, revealed that $153 million 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 office as the petroleum minister, an office she held between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.