“I Need More Time To Study The Case File” — Diezani’s Suit To Recover Forfeited Assets Stalled As Court Adjourns To January 26

The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, seeking to recover assets forfeited to the Federal Government and subsequently sold by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, until January 26, 2027, following a request by the former minister’s lawyer for additional time to study the case file.

The suit, which was scheduled for mention, could not proceed after Diezani’s counsel, Eko-Ejembi Eko, SAN, informed the court that he was appearing in the matter for the first time and needed sufficient time to familiarise himself with the proceedings.

Eko consequently applied for an adjournment to enable him to study the case file and prepare for further proceedings.

Counsel to the EFCC, Paul Mgbeoma, did not oppose the application.

Following the agreement of both parties, Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until January 26, 2027, for further mention.

The former minister instituted the suit to challenge the EFCC’s decision to auction assets previously forfeited to the Federal Government.

In the originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023, dated and filed on January 6, 2023, Diezani named the EFCC as the sole respondent.

She initially sought an extension of time within which to apply for leave to challenge the commission’s public notice announcing the auction of her seized properties.

The public notice had scheduled the sale of the affected assets to take place between January 9 and January 13, 2023.

In her amended suit, Diezani is asking the Federal High Court to set aside the EFCC’s public notice pursuant to which the public auction was conducted.

She is also seeking an order compelling the anti-graft agency to retrieve the assets from individuals and corporate organisations to whom the properties were sold.

Her application therefore goes beyond challenging the auction notice, as she is also seeking the recovery of properties already transferred to third-party purchasers following the commission’s sale.

The proceedings have also involved a dispute over Diezani’s attempt to introduce evidence relating to proceedings before the Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom.

On July 1, Justice Ekwo granted an application filed by the former minister seeking to present evidence of what she described as her acquittal by the London court.

However, the EFCC opposed the application, arguing that the alleged foreign court acquittal was irrelevant to the issues requiring determination in the Nigerian proceedings.

In a further counter-affidavit, the anti-graft agency urged Justice Ekwo to dismiss Diezani’s request.

The commission maintained that the purported acquittal of the former minister by a foreign criminal court in respect of charges brought against her had no material bearing on the specific questions before the Federal High Court.

The EFCC’s position was that the Nigerian proceedings concerned the challenge to the auction and disposal of forfeited assets, rather than the determination of criminal charges before the foreign court.

The legal dispute has therefore involved both Diezani’s challenge to the EFCC’s auction process and disagreements over the relevance of the London proceedings to her claims.

The court has not determined the substantive merits of her request to set aside the auction notice or compel the recovery of the properties sold.

Wednesday’s adjournment arose from the application of her newly appearing counsel for additional time to review the proceedings, rather than a ruling on the legality of the forfeiture or subsequent sale.

The matter is expected to come up again on January 26, 2027, for further mention.

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