Tuesday, July 2, 2024 -Admiral Alison Amaechina Madueke has filed a petition in the Lagos State High Court, seeking a legal declaration to end his marriage to Diezani Alison Madueke while also requesting that she stop using his first and last name.
In Madueke's petition for jactitation
of marriage, he prayed the court to order the former Minister of Petroleum
Resources to revert to her maiden name, Agama.
The ex-chief of Naval Staff argues
that Diezani’s ongoing use of his name despite their marriage being legally
over is damaging to his reputation and could lead to unintended consequences,
including mistaken liability, particularly given the corruption allegations
against her.
Madueke is a former military governor
of Anambra and Imo states. He married Diezani on June 30, 1999.
The petitioner, Madueke, noted that
Diezani had previously filed for divorce at the Nassarawa State High Court in
Mararaba Gurku in November 2021, citing an irreconcilable breakdown of their
marriage, seeking to end their union formally.
He said he did not oppose the suit,
resulting in the court’s dissolution of the marriage, yet Diezani persists in
using his surname, despite the formal termination of their marital union.
He stated, “On the 13th day of April
2022, judgment was delivered in Suit No. NSD/MG345/2021 by Hon. Justice A.A.
Ozegya dissolving the marriage between the petitioner and the respondent on the
ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
“The said dissolution of marriage has now
become absolute by the operation of law.
“Even though the marriage has been
dissolved and is now legally finalised, the respondent continues to use the
petitioner’s first name (Alison) and surname (Madueke) as her own without any
justification or consent from the petitioner.
“It is now more than two years that
the respondent continues to use the name of the petitioner to his
embarrassment.”
Madueke revealed that he directed his
legal representatives to serve Diezani a formal request on December 14, 2023,
demanding that she cease using his surname and revert to her maiden name,
Agama. However, despite this legal notice, Diezani has failed to respond and
continues to use his name.
The petition further read, “The
respondent has continued to hold out herself as the wife of the petitioner even
when the marriage has been dissolved.
“The respondent is undergoing
criminal trials in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom. The charge in Nigeria
is Suit No. FUC/ABI/CR/208/2010.
“The respondent faces public
allegations of corruption and financial misconduct, for which trials are
ongoing for both.
“The persistent portrayal of the
respondent as the spouse of the petitioner is creating embarrassment, a
misleading impression and tarnishing the reputation, integrity, and public
image of the petitioner.
“The respondent’s continued use of the
petitioner’s first and surname falsely suggests to the public a continuing
relationship between the parties though same has since legally ended.
“The respondent’s continued use of the
petitioner’s first and family names poses a significant risk of legal and
financial harm to the petitioner.
“The petitioner seeks the intervention of
this Honourable Court to prevent the respondent from further using his first
name and surname, thereby safeguarding his image, personality, and
reputation.”
Madueke sought an order of perpetual
injunction restraining Diezani from further using his names following the
dissolution of their marriage.
He also prayed for a perpetual injunction
restraining the respondent from further asserting, by words or conduct, the
existence of marriage between them. He is seeking a court order that compels
Diezani to revert to her maiden name and to publicly announce in a national
newspaper, both in Nigeria and the UK, that she has ceased using his
surname.
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