The trial of former Petroleum Minister Dieazani Alison-Madueke was on Monday stalled due to the strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

The matter, which is before the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, was fixed for Monday, May 17, for the EFCC to give a report on its effort at extraditing Ms Alison-Madueke to the country to stand trial.

Although Justice Ojukwu had, on March 16, been transferred to the Calabar division of the court, the case was fixed for May 17 following the absence of the EFCC’s lawyer, Farouk Abdullah, in court on March 3.

The case, which was earlier fixed for the report or arraignment of the ex-minister, could not proceed as neither Mr Abdullah nor Ms Alison-Madueke was in court on March 3.

Mr Abdullah had, in a previous application, urged the court “to issue an arrest warrant against Alison-Madueke, who is believed to be in the UK to enable all law enforcement agencies and the INTERPOL arrest her anywhere she is sighted and be brought before the court to answer to the allegation made against her before the court.

He said since the summon had not been able to achieve the desired result, hence the need for a warrant of arrest.

The former minister is charged with money laundering, a charge filed against her by the EFCC who had also accused her of fleeing the country for the UK in order to escape justice, among others.

In the April edition of the agency’s in-house magazine, the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had disclosed that the anti-corruption commission recovered $153 million from Ms Alison-Madueke.

Mr Bawa said the agency also recovered the final forfeiture of over 80 properties in Nigeria valued at about $80 million from the former minister, who has been living in the UK since leaving office some years ago.

The EFCC boss said he would want the former minister to face trial in Nigeria.

(NAN)