Patience Jonathan prays court to halt forfeiture of monies

Embattled former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has asked the Federal High Court, Lagos to strike out an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking temporary forfeiture of her $8,435,788.84 and N7.35 billion.

She is praying the court to strike out the application filed last December 13 on the ground that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear it.

Mrs. Jonathan said the motion was a gross abuse of court process because the issues were already pending before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

She said: “The ex parte originating summons filed by the EFCC amounts to forum shopping, thus an abuse of court process.”

Represented by Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Mrs. Jonathan said the same application had earlier been filed by the EFCC before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Lagos division, upon which it had obtained an ex parte order.

She said the same application was before Justice Nyako “over same parties to be affected by this same application.”

The former first lady said EFCC allegedly failed to disclose the different suits and orders made prior to filing the application before Justice Olatoregun in Lagos.

“The respondent is making great mockery of this judicial system and in extension this honourable court,” she said.

A lawyer in Ozekhome’s chambers, Chimaobi Onuigbo, in a supporting affidavit, said EFCC knowing that its application had been challenged in Abuja, filed the one in Lagos.

Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo had at the last hearing informed Justice Olatoregun that he had filed an affidavit showing that all monies seeking to be forfeited were not subject of litigation in any court.