Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The EFCC has started proceedings to bring the former minister to justice for suspected corruption under the watch of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
After the 2015 general election, Alison-Madueke abruptly fled the country and rejected attempts by the panel to prosecute her for the alleged crimes against the state.
In a writ of summons dated May 26, 2023, and filed on her team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN), the ex-minister demanded N100 billion from the respondents as damages over the “injurious, malicious and libelous publications” against her since 2015.
She also asked the EFCC and the AGF to publish a public apology in three national newspapers on the same matter.
The EFCC publications, according to Alison-Madueke, were designed to lower her reputation and integrity in the opinion of right-thinking members of the society within and outside Nigeria.
The respondents have 14 days from the service of the summons to enter their defence.