The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has formally opposed an application by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, seeking to submit evidence of her acquittal by the Southwark Crown Court in London, UK, before a Nigerian court.
​The anti-graft agency filed its counter-affidavit on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
​Alison-Madueke had previously filed an amended originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023 aimed at reversing final forfeiture orders and regaining control of her seized assets.
Following her discharge and acquittal of bribery charges by the Southwark Crown Court on June 17, 2026, her legal representative, Godwin Iyinbor, moved an application to present a supplementary affidavit capturing the UK court judgment as a material development.
​However, EFCC legal counsel Paul Mgbeoma registered the commission’s opposition to admitting the foreign judgment. The agency’s counter-affidavit contends that a verdict from a foreign criminal trial holds no legal bearing on civil asset recovery and forfeiture proceedings operating under Nigerian law.
The British verdict is irrelevant to the specific origin and acquisition of the forfeited local assets. Admitting the judgment serves only to introduce extraneous issues and divert attention away from the core merits of the recovery suit.
​Following the submission of legal processes during the morning session, Justice Ekwo adjourned the suit to November 11, 2026, for a consolidated hearing on both the EFCC’s preliminary objection and the substantive suit.
​Speaking after the court session, EFCC Head of Media and Publicity Dele Oyewale clarified the commission’s position, asserting that foreign judicial outcomes do not halt domestic legal actions against the former minister.
​”The Commission remains resolute in its proceedings. An active warrant of arrest remains in force, and extradition proceedings to bring the former minister back to Nigeria to answer her pending charges remain on course,” Oyewale stated.
​Alison-Madueke, who served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan, has resided in the United Kingdom since leaving office while several real estate assets and bank funds linked to her remain under final forfeiture orders in Nigeria.
