A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit initiated against the Federal Government by the family of the former Head of State, Sani Abacha.
The suit was filed to prevent the revocation of the late military ruler’s property based in the Maitama District of Abuja.
The Judge, Peter Lifu, dismissed the lawsuit in a ruling on the nine-year-old dispute in which the Abacha family is requesting N500 million in damages and the return of their father’s house situated on Osara Close, Maitama.
According to the ruling, the lawsuit was dismissed for several reasons, including the fact that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to file the lawsuit in the first place and that the complaint was already statute-barred when it was filed in 2015.
The former military ruler’s eldest surviving son, Mohammed Sani Abacha, and his widow, Maryam Abacha, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the late Abacha’s estate managers.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Salamed Ventures Limited are named as the suit’s first through fourth defendants.
After losing twice at the FCT High Court and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja due to jurisdictional issues, the family’s lawsuits over the property have now been dismissed for the fourth time.
The family asked the Federal High Court to nullify and set aside the revocation of the certificate of occupancy (C of O) of the property of the late leader.
The family said in its statement of claims that between 2004 and 2005, the FCT under Nasir El-Rufai as the minister ordered it to submit the certificate of occupancy for re-certification.
It claimed that Mohammed Sani Abacha, the second plaintiff, complied with the directive by giving the FCDA the C of O and received an acknowledgement copy for the submission.
According to the family, it was waiting for a new C of O to be provided on February 3, 2006, when Mohammed Abacha got a letter informing him that it had been revoked without any justification.
The fourth defendant, Salamed Ventures Limited, represented by James Ogwu Onoja, a senior advocate, contended that the lawsuit had lost jurisdiction at the time it was commenced since it was not submitted within the legally permitted three-month period.
In his judgment, the judge agreed with Salamed Ventures that the Abacha property was rightfully revoked due to breaches in the right of occupancy, including the erection of structures without first obtaining building plans.
After dismissing the lawsuit, the judge mandated that the Abacha family pay Salamed Ventures N500,000 for legal fees.
The ICIR reported how subsequent governments in Nigeria recovered funds looted by the late Abacha, including the return of about $723 million from Switzerland, and other sums from other countries allegedly running into $5 billion in total.
However, a Federal High Court in Abuja, on July 3, ordered the Nigerian government to disclose how the $5 billion Abacha loot was spent.
The court directed the administration of President Bola Tinubu to “disclose the exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria, and the total amount of Abacha loot recovered and all agreements signed on same by the governments of former presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari”.
A reporter with the ICIR
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