The previous Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday, steered the Federal Top Court docket in Abuja to line the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee to retrieve her seized property from their patrons.
The previous minister particularly asked that the courtroom direct the anti-graft company to recuperate the seized houses from the folks or entities to whom they had been offered.
Alison-Madueke made this request thru an amended utility filed on her behalf via her legal professional, Well-known Mike Ozekhome (SAN), earlier than Justice Inyang Ekwo.
She sought an line to put aside the EFCC’s family understand, which served as the foundation for the family public sale of her property.
She additional requested the courtroom to claim the family public sale carried out via the EFCC as a contravention of statutory provisions, together with the EFCC Operate of 2004 and the Proceeds of Crime Healing and Control Operate of 2022.
Alison-Madueke argued that the public sale breached her proper to an excellent listening to as assured underneath Category 36(1) of the 1999 Charter (as amended).
Moreover, she sought an line restraining the EFCC from taking away her houses as indexed within the family understand and requested the courtroom to quit the attention issued via the EFCC, which was once in response to diverse judgments and orders in bias of the company.
She contended that the general forfeiture orders issued towards her houses violated her proprietary rights because of a rarity of jurisdiction and denial of an excellent listening to.
The previous minister additionally asked an extension of week to hunt the courtroom’s reduce to quit, discharge, or put aside the family understand issued via the EFCC.
The EFCC had introduced in a family understand that Alison-Madueke’s property had been up on the market between January 9 and January 13, 2023.
Following this announcement, Alison-Madueke initiated criminal motion towards the EFCC.
In an originating movement marked FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, filed on January 6, 2023, she sought an extension of week to use for an line to put aside the family understand and ban the public sale of her property.
Then again, in a counter-affidavit filed on March 14, the EFCC steered the courtroom to disregard the swimsuit.
The affidavit, deposed to via litigation officer Oyakhilome Ekienabor, refuted a number of claims made via Alison-Madueke.
Ekienabor said that intensive investigations into the previous minister’s actions all over her tenure had ended in prison court cases towards her in diverse courts, together with the Federal Top Court docket.
He cited fees filed in 2017 and 2018 as a part of the proof towards her and defined that the houses had been offered in compliance with ultimate forfeiture orders issued via the Federal Top Court docket on July 9, 2019, and September 10, 2019.
In line with Ekienabor, those forfeiture orders weren’t issued in violation of Alison-Madueke’s rights to truthful listening to, and the houses had been disposed of according to due procedure.
“The cases leading to the forfeiture orders were actions in rem, and the decisions are binding on all,” he mentioned.
He added that all over the forfeiture court cases, the courtroom had advised the EFCC to put up a understand inviting events to turn purpose why the houses must no longer be forfeited.
Ekienabor additional said that Alison-Madueke was once represented all over probably the most court cases, however the courtroom in the long run issued the general forfeiture orders then bearing in mind submissions made via her suggest.
Justice Ekwo, on February 17, granted the previous minister’s request to amend her swimsuit following a movement via her suggest, Godwin Iyinbor.
On the resumed listening to on Monday, Iyinbor knowledgeable the courtroom that an amended originating movement were filed and served at the EFCC on February 20.
He asked an adjournment to reply to the fee’s counter-affidavit, which was once filed on March 14.
Justice Ekwo emphasized the wish to expedite the case, bearing in mind its lengthy length because it was once filed in 2023.
The EFCC’s suggest, Divine Oguru, apologised for the extend in responding and confident the courtroom of readiness on the later listening to.
“We will be ready to go on in the next adjourned date my lord,” he mentioned
The pass judgement on therefore adjourned the topic to March 27 for listening to.