By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA– A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, begging it to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from selling off all the properties that were seized from her.

The erstwhile Minister, in the legal action she filed through a team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, equally prayed the court for an order, directing the anti-graft agency to retrieve from persons (natural or corporate), to whom it had sold off any of the properties.

She told the court that the EFCC had pursuant to a notice it issued in 2023, and acting in breach of her fundamental right to a fair hearing, commenced a public sale by auction of assets that were linked to her.

According to the ex-Petroleum Minister, the anti-graft agency based its decision to sale off the properties on final forfeiture orders it obtained from various courts in the country.

She told the court that despite EFCC’s claim that a final order of forfeiture was granted against her seized properties, she was neither served with any charge and proof of evidence in respect 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 materials facts.

“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 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,” she added.

The embattled former Minister argued that the said forfeiture orders were made against her by courts that lacked the requisite jurisdiction, saying they were made without recourse to her constitutional right to fair hearing.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/stop-efcc-from-selling-my-seized-assets-ex-minister-diezani-begs-court/