Diezani Sues EFCC, AGF, Demands N100bn In Damages For Alleged Libel

The former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke is suing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) for N100 billion over allegations of corruption.

The lawsuit, filed on her behalf at a federal high court in Abuja by a legal team led by senior advocate Mike Ozekhome on May 26, 2023, calls for the payment of damages and a public apology.

The former minister demands that the EFCC and AGF issue apologies to her in three national newspapers.

She claims they have produced “false, injurious, malicious and libellous publications” against her since she left the country in 2015.

Alison-Madueke argues that these statements have damaged her reputation and integrity “in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society within and outside Nigeria” and exposed her to “public ridicule, odium, contempt, derision and obloquy”.

The lawsuit lists a series of statements and publications issued by the EFCC, which she alleges were defamatory and intended to harm her reputation.

These include a claim that the EFCC discovered an additional $72.8 million in a bank allegedly belonging to her and that she has embezzled billions from the Nigerian government.

The EFCC and AGF have been given 14 days from the receipt of the summons to enter their defence.

Alison-Madueke served as the minister of transportation under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from 2007 to 2009. Later, she was appointed as the minister of mines and steel development before becoming petroleum minister under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015.

See the writ of summoning below: