Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to halt the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from auctioning off her seized properties, alleging that the anti-corruption agency violated her right to a fair hearing.In an amended application filed through her senior counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Diezani also requested the court to order the EFCC to recover any of her properties that have already been sold.Justice Inyang Ekwo is presiding over the case.
The former minister, who served between 2010 and 2015, insists that the EFCC failed to notify her or allow her to defend herself before seizing her assets. She maintains that, despite the commission’s claim of securing final forfeiture orders, she was never served with any criminal charges or summons related to the properties in question.In her court filing, Diezani accused the EFCC of manipulating the judicial process, alleging that the agency misrepresented facts, suppressed material information, and failed to disclose critical details to the court before obtaining forfeiture orders.
“In many cases, the final forfeiture orders were made against properties which affected the applicant’s interest,” her application stated.She argued that while the courts were granting permanent confiscation orders, she was outside Nigeria seeking medical treatment and had no knowledge of the legal proceedings against her assets.“The courts were misled into making the .
