- Stop Using My Name, Allison Madueke Warns Diezani Alison-Madueke
By Abiola Olawale
A former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Alison Madueke, has initiated a lawsuit against his ex-wife, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke over the continued usage of his surname despite the dissolution of their marriage.
Madueke, in the lawsuit filed before the Lagos State High Court, is seeking a legal declaration restraining the former minister from using his last name.
Madueke in the petition marked LD/15144HD/2024 argued that they stopped living together in May 2015 after her ministerial appointment ended dramatically.
He revealed that in November 2021, Diezani filed a petition for dissolution of their marriage (Suit No. NSD/MG345/2021) at the High Court of Nassarawa State, Nassarawa Judicial Division, sitting at Mararaba Gurku citing an the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
According to him, on April 13, 2022, Judgment was delivered in Suit No. NSD/MG345/2021 by Hon. Justice A.A. Ozegya. The judgement dissolved the marriage between the Petitioner and the Respondent on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
The former Chief of Naval Staff in the petition also argued that the continued usage of his last name by his ex-wife is capable of destroying his hard earned reputation including mistaken liability, particularly given the corruption allegations against the former minister which still hangs on her neck till date.
Madueke also prayed the court to grant an order forcefully compelling Diezani to adopt and revert to her pre-marital surname, Agama and issue publications in well known newspapers of international and national circulation in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom as an indication of her discontinuation of the use of the petitioner’s first name and surname.
The petition reads in part: “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 desists from 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, Alison Madueke.
The petition further reads: “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.”
