Nigeria: EFCC Opposes Diezani's Move to Present Evidence of UK Court Acquittal in Abuja Case

What the report says

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to reject former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke’s bid to place her recent UK acquittal on the record in an ongoing case over auctioned assets. According to Premium Times’ report republished by AllAfrica, the anti-graft agency says the London ruling is not relevant to the Nigerian suit and does not affect the questions before Judge Inyang Ekwo.

The dispute centers on Alison-Madueke’s challenge to the EFCC’s handling of properties and personal effects linked to forfeiture and public auction processes. Her lawyers want the court to consider the Southwark Crown Court decision, arguing it is a material development that supports her claim that the assets were not properly taken. The EFCC says the assets were auctioned under court orders and that the public sale notice did not identify the listed property as belonging to her.

The case has been pending since 2023, and the former minister amended her suit in February 2025. Earlier, the court had allowed her to file supplementary material about the UK acquittal after the EFCC did not object at that stage, but the commission later filed a counter-affidavit opposing the new evidence. The report says the court has now fixed 11 November for hearing of the motions.

More broadly, the matter reflects the continuing legal fallout from Alison-Madueke’s years as Nigeria’s petroleum minister and the multiple asset-recovery and corruption proceedings associated with her name, both in Nigeria and abroad.