Patience, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has asked the
Federal High Court in Lagos to strike out an ex-parte application by
filed against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The application is seeking temporary forfeiture of her $8,435,788.84 and N7.35 billion.
She is also praying the court for an order striking out the motion
filed last December 13 on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction
to hear it.
Mrs Jonathan said the EFCC’s motion was “a gross abuse of court
process” because the issues were already pending before Justice Binta
Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“The ex parte originating summons filed by the EFCC amounts to forum shopping, thus an abuse of court process,” she said.
However, hearing was stalled in the case, yesterday, due to Justice
Olatoregun’s absence. The case was adjourned till today, Tuesday.
Through her lawyers, Mr Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, and Chief Mike
Ozekhome, SAN, Mrs Jonathan said the same application had earlier been
filed by the EFCC before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the court’s
Lagos division, upon which it had obtained an ex-parte order.
She said the same application was before Justice Nyako “over same parties to be affected by this same application.”
The former first lady said EFCC allegedly failed to disclose the
different suits and orders made prior to filing the application before
Justice Olatoregun in Lagos.
“The respondent is making great mockery of this judicial system and by extension this court,” Mrs Jonathan said.