In May 2010, Nigerians got a new First Lady. New in every sense of the word. Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

She made no airs about being meek, limiting herself to ‘fighting for women’s rights and stopping trafficking’.

Patience Jonathan began her career as a First Lady by attempting to wrestle a piece of land on Abuja’s Cadastral zone from her predecessor. Though she lost that battle, it didn’t stop her from taking on others.

In her five years occupying the position of First Lady of Nigeria, Jonathan fought, insulted directly and indirectly, cried on National TV, made blunders that have become regular Nigerian lingo, and knocked us off our seats in fits of laughter.

Hate her or love her, she warmed her way into our Nigerian hearts. And now it appears though her ‘tenure’ is over, Mama Peace still has more to give (or take, if you are the EFCC).

The Dame’s $20million

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) instituted an action against four companies and three individuals; a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs; a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku and a former Special Adviser to the President, Mr Dudafa who was the chief of Domestic Affairs while the Jonathans occupied the Villa.

EFCC’s allegation? That the four companies and the other two individuals had conspired with Mr. Dudafa to launder $15,591,700 which was the proceeds from a theft we are yet to know anything about.

No sooner than News of the legal action broke did Patience Jonathan file a separate action against the anti-graft Commission seeking enforcement of her fundamental human rights to own personal property as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

This is exactly the kind of resilience that Mama Peace has come to be known for.

In a country where the top shots stay as far away as possible from controversies, especially the money laundering kind, this is definitely a first.

And of course it had to be Patience Jonathan who would lay down the precedent. Demanding all of her money which she has claimed were meant to cover her medical bills, she incurred in 2013.

What’s even more interesting? The reaction that the news evoked, were not of the usual kind. None of all that anger and frustration.

So enamoured with the Dame are Nigerians that, on Twitter, responses ranged from humorous to derision of the EFCC.

Her "Hard earned money". Lol. https://t.co/259MQnIIGu

— T. Rankïn' ∆ (@AfroVII) September 16, 2016

But the Dame is not joking with anyone. She insists on getting every last cent of her money back. She even sued Skye bank- where the accounts holding the money have been frozen by the courts on the application of EFCC.

The kind of circumstance that muddled up court cases are made of.

Patience Jonathan isn’t here saying anything about the source of the money nor is she willing to pay attention to those out there, like the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) and Professor Itse Sagay, claiming that owning up that kind of huge sum should earn her a corruption probe.

What a lot of people seem to have forgotten is that this is the same woman who, after spending her early career teaching with an Education degree, went straight into banking as a marketing manager of Imiete Community Bank and even started her own micro-finance bank, Akpo Community Bank in Port Harcourt.

While her husband served as the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, she returned to Education at the Ministry in Bayelsa State. And in 2012, two years after she became first lady, Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State at the time, appointed her a Permanent Secretary in the State.

The appointment sparked a lot of controversy but the Dame was not about to let anyone’s hurt feelings force her into declining the appointment.

In a statement issued by Ayo Osinlu, her media aide at the time, Madam Peace reinforced the fact that she was a member of the Bayelsa State Civil Service.

Essentially, claiming she was entitled to what they referred to as “routine promotion”, making her the first person to be appointed Permanent Secretary 13 years after quitting active service.

She also was the first (and probably the only) Permanent Secretary to serve in absentia.

Who could blame her? She didn’t ask for a promotion, so why reject it? She was however magnanimous enough to promise not to receive any perks from the office.

According to Osinlu’s statement, “it will be illegal for her to draw salary from the office.”

In the same way her appointment was embroiled in controversy, her resignation in 2014 from the position was the start of another.

It also marked the beginning of her sour relationship with Seriake Dickson.

From one challenging move to another and from hysterical outbursts to error-ridden speeches, Patience Jonathan has led us through the revelation of a woman whose gallantry fears no reproach.

Not even from a country currently obsessed with reclaiming looted funds.

Now that the four companies have pleaded guilty

You have to admire Patience Jonathan because in a country where everyone ‘caught’ claims to ‘co-operate’ with the anti-graft agencies, she’s about to be the first to wrestle “her hard earned” cash from the authorities.

The implication of yesterday’s hearing at the Federal High Court yesterday is that Dame Patience has laid claim to a sum that the recognized ‘owners’ of the accounts, where the monies are lodged, have pleaded guilty to having conspired to launder.

Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel representing the EFCC sought the leave of the court to review the facts of the case but the presiding Judge declined in favour of an adjournment till 27th of September.

Reviewing the facts of the case would have definitely made certain things a little clearer. Like the origin of the theft and how it came to be that an individual is the sole signatory to and beneficiary of an account that she isn’t named on.

No paper trail leads these accounts to the former first lady yet her lawyers have written that she had been spending without hindrance until a No Debit Order was placed on the said accounts.

It’s hard to tell how this matter will play out but the Dame has already declared that the four individuals who represented the companies in court yesterday were mercenaries hired by the EFCC.

While all of the pieces of the puzzle of this messy matter aren’t complete yet, one ‘grand’ piece of the puzzle is Patience Jonathan and she has already proven time and time again that she doesn’t ever go down.

Att least, not without an entertaining fight.