Court Dismisses Alison Diezani’s Application To Return To Nigeria

A Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos has dismissed an application by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke urging it to compel the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, to bring her back to Nigeria.

Diezani had brought the application before the court asking to be brought back to Nigeria to defend a criminal charge bordering on alleged laundering of N450 million.


Justice Rilwan Aikawa in a ruling on the issue agreed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the application is misconceived and amounts to “a misuse of the court process”.

The court also held that having not been listed as a defendant in the charge, there is no offence yet being made against the Former Minister and she is “merely crying wolf where there is none”.

According to Justice Aikawa, Mrs Alison-Madueke did not also deny the claims of the EFCC that she is currently on bail in the UK where she is being investigated for several financial crimes and her filing of the application was merely a ploy to escape justice in the U.K.

The judge ruled that his court will not be used to achieve this aim. In the final analysis, he declared that Mrs Alison-Madueke’s application lacks merit and it is accordingly dismissed.

The court has proceeded with the trial of the case.