Asset Forfeiture: Ex-petroleum minister Alison-Madueke seeks to amend suit against EFCC

Former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Thursday, sought to amend her suit challenging the order obtained by the EFCC for final forfeiture of her seized assets.

Ms Alison-Madueke, through her lawyer, Godwin Iyinbor, told Justice Inyang of a Federal High Court in Abuja upon resumed hearing in the suit.

When the matter was called, no counsel appeared for the EFCC.

Mr Ekwo then asked Mr Iyinbor if he had received processes from the anti-graft agency, and he responded in the affirmative.

“Yes, my Lord. We received a counter affidavit to our originating process and we have filed a further affidavit in response,” Mr Iyinbor responded.

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

The judge adjourned the matter until February 17, 2025, to hear the motion to amend their originating process.

The ex-minister had, through her counsel, Mike Ozekhome, sued the anti-graft agency as the sole respondent.

Ms Alison-Madueke, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, sought an order extending the time to seek leave to apply to the court for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice issued to conduct a public sale on her property.

In the motion dated and filed on January 6, 2023, the former minister sought five orders from the court. The former minister argued that the various orders were made without jurisdiction and said these “ought to be set aside ex debito justitiae.”

She said she was not given a fair hearing in all the proceedings leading to the orders.

“The various court orders issued in favour of the respondent and upon which the respondent issued the public notice were issued in breach of the applicant’s right to a fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as altered, and other similar constitutional provisions,” she said.

She argued 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 pending against her before the court.

She further argued that the courts were misled into making several final forfeiture orders against her assets through suppression or non-disclosure of material facts.

But the EFCC, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by Rufai Zaki, a detective with the commission, urged the court to dismiss her application.

Mr Zaki, a member of the team that investigated a case of criminal conspiracy, official corruption, and money laundering against the ex-minister and some other persons involved in the case, said the investigation clearly showed that she was involved in some acts of criminality.

He said Ms Alison-Madueke was, therefore, charged before the court in charge no. FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018.

“We hereby rely on the charge FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 dated November 14, 2018, filed before this honourable court and also attached as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.

The EFCC operative said most of the depositions in Ms Alison-Madueke’s suit were untrue.

He said contrary to her deposition in the affidavit filed in support of the suit, most of the cases that led to the final forfeiture of the contested property “were action in rem; the same was heard at various times and determined by this honourable court.”

He said 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.

Mr Zaki argued that one Nnamdi Awa Kalu represented the ex-minister in reaction to one of the forfeiture applications.

“We humbly rely on the judgement of Hon. Justice I.LN. Oweibo, dated September 10, 2019, shown in Exhibit C of the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.

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

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

The anti-corruption agency had planned to conduct a public sale of all the assets seized for being proceeds of crime as ordered by courts to be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

The auction exercise on the seized assets, believed to include Ms Alison-Madueke’s property, started on January 9, 2023.

The suspended chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had 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 public office as the petroleum minister, an office she held between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The asset-related suit differs from the one she filed to seek N100 billion as compensation for a series of EFCC’s alleged libellous publications against her.