Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources, has asked a federal high court in Abuja to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from auctioning all the properties seized from her.
In an amended application filed by her lawyer, Mike
Ozekhome, before Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, Diezani also requested an
order directing the EFCC to retrieve from persons (natural or corporate) to
whom it had sold any of the properties.
She submitted that the EFCC breached her fundamental rights
to a fair hearing with a public auction of her assets.
The former minister argued that despite EFCC’s claim that a final order of forfeiture was granted against her seized properties, she was neither served with any charge or proof of evidence of any criminal proceeding nor summons relating to any matter pending before any court.
The applicant accused the anti-graft agency of obtaining
forfeiture orders against her through misrepresentations and concealment of
facts.
“In many cases, the final forfeiture orders were made
against properties which affected the applicant’s interest; the courts were
misled into making the final order of forfeiture against the applicant, based
on suppression or non-disclosure of material facts,” the application reads.
“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 thus the court has the power to set aside the same
ex-debito justitiae, as a void order is as good as if it was never made at
all.”
Diezani further argued that the various court orders on
forfeiture were made without the requisite jurisdiction and recourse to her
constitutional right to a fair hearing.
The former minister insisted that she was never served with
relevant court processes that led to the orders for final forfeiture of her
assets, adding that the EFCC was aware she left the country seeking medical
treatment since 2015.
“The applicant did not have any access to newspapers
circulating within Nigeria during this period as she was not in Nigeria at all
material times relevant to this suit,” the application stated.
“The courts, in granting the final order of forfeiture in a
matter that is said to flow from criminal activities and which are criminal in
nature, and without any conviction of the applicant, granted the order of final
forfeiture on minimum proof based on the civil standards of preponderance of
evidence or balance of probability, instead of the strict proof applicable in
criminal trials or civil proceedings where there is an allegation of crime.
“Only a court of law can declare an act as constituting
unlawful activities, and there was no such order that had declared the alleged
conduct of the applicant to be unlawful.
“A mere allegation by the respondent (EFCC) that the act or
action of the applicant constituted unlawful activities will not suffice in the
circumstance.”
She told the court that she has three suits against the EFCC
pending before courts in Lagos, contending that “since the forfeiture orders
are being challenged, no sale can validly take place as such sale would be
rendered nugatory.”
Meanwhile, the EFCC has filed a counter-affidavit
challenging the competence of Diezani’s application.
The affidavit, deposed to by Oyakhilome Ekienabor, a
litigation officer, refuted several claims made by the applicant.
Ekienabor said the forfeiture orders were not issued in
violation of the applicant’s rights to a fair hearing, noting that the
properties were disposed of following due process.
“The final forfeiture orders pursuant to which the sale of
the properties was conducted are still in force and have not been set aside,”
he added.
“The forfeited properties were disposed of in accordance
with the due process of law.”
He further stated Diezani was represented during one of the
proceedings, but the court ultimately issued the final forfeiture orders after
considering submissions made by her counsel.
At the resumed proceeding in the matter on Monday, Godwin Iyibor, who appeared for the applicant, requested time to file his response to EFCC’s counter-affidavit, which he said was served on him on March
The judge emphasised the need to expedite the case,
considering that it was filed in 2023.
The EFCC’s counsel, Divine Oguru, apologised for the delay
in responding and assured the court of readiness at the next hearing.
“We will be ready to go on in the next adjourned date, my
lord,” he said.
The judge adjourned the matter to March 27 for hearing.