Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from auctioning properties confiscated from her.
In a legal challenge filed through her counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, Diezani is requesting the court to compel the EFCC to recover any properties already sold to individuals or corporate entities.
She argued that the anti-graft agency violated her fundamental right to a fair hearing by proceeding with the public auction in 2023, based on a notice it issued.
The EFCC, she claimed, relied on final forfeiture orders obtained from various courts across the country to justify the sales.
Diezani further alleged that these forfeiture rulings were secured through misleading information and the withholding of crucial details.
“In several instances, the courts were misled into granting final forfeiture orders against my properties due to the suppression or non-disclosure of material facts,” she stated.
According to her, the applications that led to the forfeiture were based on misrepresentations and omissions, making the orders legally void.
She urged the court to overturn them, asserting that any judgment obtained through deception has no legal standing.