Federal High Court Judge in Abuja, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu has given Economic and Financial Crimes Commission till March 2020 to get former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke extradited to Nigeria.
While giving her verdict on the case on Tuesday, the judge threatened to strike out the money laundering case if the EFCC fails to produce Diezani in court by March 2020.
You will recall that in November 2018, EFCC filed 13 counts of money laundering against the ex-minister accusing her of unlawfully taking into her possession the sums of $39.7m and N3.32bn with which she allegedly bought choice properties in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in Rivers State, while she was in office.
Meanwhile, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Faruk Abdullah, had earlier on Tuesday pleaded with the judge to adjourn the case sine die (indefinitely), on the grounds that the EFCC was finding it difficult to extradite the defendant from the United Kingdom.
Diezani had been in the United Kingdom facing corruption investigations since 2015 when she left office as minister.
Abdullah told Justice Ojukwu on Tuesday that given the circumstances, it would be better for the case to be adjourned indefinitely so that it would not continue to “clog” the court’s docket.
In a swift response, the judge said;
“My docket is not going to be a waiting room for the prosecution.”
“I will give you one more adjournment. If nothing happens on the next date, I will strike it out,” the judge added.
In her ruling, the judge adjourned the matter till March 10 for a report or striking out.
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DJ CHASCOLEE 
