Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday threatened to strike out the money laundering charge against the former minister of petroleum resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke should the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) fail to extradite her from the UK and produce her in court by March 2020.
The EFCC had, on November 11, 2018, filed 13 counts of money laundering against the ex-minister.
The agency accused the erstwhile minister of unlawfully taking into her possession the sums of $39.7 million and N3.32 billion with which she allegedly bought choice property in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in Rivers State while she was in office.
Diezani who had been in the UK facing corruption investigations since 2015 when she left office as minister, was also alleged to have purchased choice landed assets with the money using different persons as front.
When the matter came up yesterday, Justice Ojukwu threatened to strike out the suit if the commission failed to produce the defendant in court.
Counsel for the prosecution Mr. Faruk Abdullah, had earlier pleaded with the judge to adjourn the case sine die (indefinitely), on the grounds that the EFCC was facing challenges in its bid to extradite the defendant from the United Kingdom.
He told the court that given the circumstances, it would be better for the case to be adjourned indefinitely so that it would not continue to “clog” the court’s docket.
In her response, the judge said: “My docket is not going to be a waiting room for the prosecution.”
“I will give you one more adjournment. If nothing happens on the next date, I will strike it out.
Thereafter, she adjourned the matter till March 10 “for a report or striking out.”
It would be recalled that the EFCC had on November 11, 2018, filed a 13-count charge bordering on money laundering against Alison-Madueke accusing her of unlawfully taking into her possession the sums of sums of $39.7million and N3.32 billion when she reasonably ought to have known that the money formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities.
