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Court fixes Oct 6 to hear Diezani’s motion to stop EFCC from selling off assets

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed October 6 to hear a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from selling off all the properties that were seized from her. The court, presided over by Justice Abubakar Umar adjourned the suit to
Court fixes Oct 6 to hear Diezani’s motion to stop EFCC from selling off assets

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed October 6 to hear a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from selling off all the properties that were seized from her.

The court, presided over by Justice Abubakar Umar adjourned the suit to ena6 the former minister respond to processes the anti-graft agency served on her.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, which she filed through a team of lawyers led by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Alison-Madueke prayed the court to order the EFCC to retrieve from persons (natural or corporate) to whom it had sold off any of the properties.

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

The erstwhile petroleum minister said the anti-graft agency based its decision to sell off the properties on final forfeiture orders it obtained from various courts in the country.

The embattled former minister told the court that despite EFCC’s claim that 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.

She contended 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.

Insisting she was never served with relevant court processes in all the proceedings that led to the orders for final forfeiture of her assets, the applicant said the EFCC was aware that she was not within the shores of Nigeria at all material times as she left to seek medical treatment in 2015.

Meanwhile, the EFCC, in response to the suit, filed a counter-affidavit to challenge its competence.

In the affidavit that was deposed to by one of its detectives, Oyakhilome Ekienabor, the anti-graft agency told the court that following extensive investigations into activities of the applicant while she was a public servant, criminal proceedings were initiated against her in various courts.

It told the court that examples of such cases included a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018, which was filed on November 2018, as well as another charge marked: HC/ADYL/56c/2017, filed on July 1, 2017, before a High Court in Adamawa State.

EFCC maintained that sale of properties that previously belonged to the former minister was conducted in execution of final forfeiture orders of Justice C.A. Obiozor of the Federal High made on July 9, 2019, as well as another order that was made by Justice I. N. Oweibo, on September 10, 2019.

The Commission told the court that before the assets were deemed to have been forfeited, it made newspaper publications inviting any person interested in the properties to show cause.

It will be recalled that the former minister had earlier filed a N100billion defamation suit against the EFCC which she alleged had authored and sponsored several publications that portrayed her as a treasury looter.

In the suit marked: CV/6273/2023, she insisted that the said defamatory publications brought her into “public ridicule, odium, contempt, derision and obloquy”.

Court fixes Oct 6 to hear Diezani’s motion to stop EFCC from selling off assets

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Kenya court ruling: Review Nnamdi Kanu’s trial – IPOB tells Nigerian Govt

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has urged the Nigerian government to review the ongoing trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, amid a recent judgment by the High Court of Kenya, which found that his arrest and transfer from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021 breached international legal norms and constitutional protections. IPOB, in a statement
Kenya court ruling: Review Nnamdi Kanu’s trial – IPOB tells Nigerian Govt

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has urged the Nigerian government to review the ongoing trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, amid a recent judgment by the High Court of Kenya, which found that his arrest and transfer from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021 breached international legal norms and constitutional protections.

IPOB, in a statement by its Director of Legal Affairs, Research and Global Communications, Onyedikachi Ifedi, praised the Kenyan court’s ruling as a significant development in what it described as a legal process that deserves fresh scrutiny.

The group said that the Kenyan court found that the events surrounding Kanu’s return to Nigeria did not follow due legal procedure, including the absence of a formal extradition hearing, arguing that this raises questions about the jurisdictional foundation of Kanu’s trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

It referenced Section 2(3)(f)(ii) of Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which includes, under certain conditions, unlawful cross-border transfers in violation of treaties as serious offenses.

The group also argued that Nigerian courts should take the Kenyan ruling into account as they assess the broader legal implications of the case.

Additionally, IPOB pointed to Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which stipulates that no person legally residing in a country may be expelled except through a process consistent with the law.

The group urged Justice James Omotosho, who is currently presiding over Kanu’s trial in Abuja, to invite submissions from both parties regarding the impact of the Kenyan judgment on the ongoing proceedings.

“This is not about political considerations but about upholding constitutional safeguards and respecting international legal obligations,” the statement said.

Kenya court ruling: Review Nnamdi Kanu’s trial – IPOB tells Nigerian Govt

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FCT: How I stopped UniAbuja from grabbing 11,000 hectares of land – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, disclosed that the University of Abuja grabbed 11,000 hectares of land in Gishiri area of Abuja. Wike, however, said he reversed the university’s action and ordered that only 4,000 hectares should be allocated to the institution. He disclosed this during the commissioning of
FCT: How I stopped UniAbuja from grabbing 11,000 hectares of land – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, disclosed that the University of Abuja grabbed 11,000 hectares of land in Gishiri area of Abuja.

Wike, however, said he reversed the university’s action and ordered that only 4,000 hectares should be allocated to the institution.

He disclosed this during the commissioning of newly constructed access roads in Gishiri District of Abuja to mark President Bola Tinubu’s second year in office.

The minister disclosed that the road construction helped stop the land grabbing venture by the university.

Wike said, “This road has helped us to stop the land grabbing by the university, the university on their own grabbed 11,000 hectares and I said that will not happen. No document, nothing. All you see is them fencing everywhere.

“I told the Director of Lands and other relevant agencies to carve out 4,000 hectares of lands and give to the university while the others were allocated because we are going to provide roads here.

“We can’t allow people to just wake up in the morning and start fencing without documents, that’s not the way we are supposed to work.”

The minister disclosed that the Gishiri District is open to most institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to establish their academy.

“This Gishiri District has to be developed like other districts, what we have done is creating these access roads.

“This district like the executive secretary has said is going to have most institutions – the university, EFCC academy and all other institutions that are supposed to be here.

“So, Mr President, this will be an important district that will attract so many investors and of course, coming in here, you can see how beautiful it looks.

“If the National Assembly wants to have their own institution, we are ready to partner,” he said.

FCT: How I stopped UniAbuja from grabbing 11,000 hectares of land – Wike