- Patience Jonathan has blocked EFCC’s bid to seize her 2 Abuja properties
- Ex-First Lady’s legal team got wind that EFCC’s ex parte was to be heard on Thursday, October 19
- Her legal team quickly filed a motion to challenge court’s jurisdiction to her EFCC’s ex parte motion
The wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience Jonathan, on Thursday, October 19 temporarily blocked the Federal High Court in Abuja from hearing an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking an order of interim forfeiture of two properties traced to her in Abuja.
Punch reports that such ex parte applications are heard by courts without the knowledge or participation of the other parties whose properties are at stake.
READ ALSO: EFCC accuses Jonathan’s aide of allegedly helping Patience launder N5.1bn
NAIJ.com gathered that Patience’s legal team led by Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) got wind of the fact that the EFCC’s ex parte motion was to be heard by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Thursday.
The legal team quickly filed a motion challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the ex parte motion and also attended court on Thursday to block the hearing.
Justice Dimgba was set to hear the EFCC’s motion on Thursday but had to adjourn until November 11 after Adedipe and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), appearing for Jonathan, argued that the ex parte could not be heard since their client had filed an application challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain it.
The EFCC was represented by Best Ojukwu and also later by Tahir Sylvanus.
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After the back-and-forth arguments between the EFCC’s and Jonathan’s legal team, the court fixed November 11 for the hearing of the applications.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told a Federal High Court in Lagos how Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, a former special assistant on domestic affairs to ex- president, Goodluck Jonathan, allegedly laundered several billions of naira for a former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.
The EFCC stages walk against corruption - on NAIJ.com
Source: Naij.com
ROSY CREST
Thursday, 19 October 2017