JUST IN: Abacha’s family loses N500m suit against Federal Government

The family of the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging the revocation of their property in Abuja’s Maitama highbrow sector. On Monday, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the lawsuit.

Mohammed, the eldest surviving son of late military leader Hajia Maryam Abacha, and his wife filed the lawsuit, which is labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2016.

The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Federal Capital Territory Minister, and Salamed Ventures Limited were listed as defendants in the case.

In his judgement, Justice Peter Lifu agreed with the defendants that the suit had become statute barred as at the time it was filed in 2015.

He further held that going by the documents before the court, the plaintiffs, lacked the locus standi (legal right) to maintain the action.

Specifically, the Abacha family had among other things, prayed the court to nullify and set aside the purported revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy of the property of the late General Sani Abacha located in the Maitama District.

They contended that the Certificate of Occupancy marked FCT/ABUKN 2478, covering plot 3119 and issued on June 25, 1993, was illegally and unlawfully revoked by the defendants.

The plaintiffs, in their statement of claim, told the court that the then Minister of the FCT, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, had instructed them to submit the Certificate of Occupancy in their possession for re-certification.

They claimed that the 2nd plaintiff, Mohammed, promptly complied with the directive by delivering the Certificate of Occupancy to the FCDA with the acknowledgement copy issued to him.

According to them, while they waited for the new Certificate of Occupancy to be issued to them, Mohammed, received a letter notifying them that the Certificate of Occupancy had been revoked without any reason adduced in the letter that conveyed the information.

The plaintiffs argued that no compensation was offered to them as required by the law.

Therefore, they prayed the court to declare as unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void and of no effect, the purported revocation of the property.

More so, the plaintiffs prayed the court to hold that their original Certificate of Occupancy was valid and subsisting since it was revoked without reason or payment of adequate compensation.

They equally sought an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from taking any further step on the disputed revocation, as well as the award of N500million to them as damages to be paid by the defendants.

However, the defendants urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of merit.

In counter affidavits and preliminary objections they filed before the court, the defendants maintained that the suit had become statute barred, contending that it was not filed within the time prescribed by the law.

Even though some of the defendants were absent during the proceeding, Justice Lifu invoked the rule of the court and deemed their final written addresses as duly adopted.
While the plaintiffs were represented during the proceedings, by their lawyer, Dr. Reuben Okpanachi Atabo, SAN, the defendants’ legal team was led by Dr. James Ogwu Onoja, SAN.

Deciding the matter on Monday, Justice Lifu noted that the cause of action in the matter arose on February 3, 2006, when the Certificate of Occupancy was revoked, while the suit was filed in May 2015, about nine years after the revocation.

He stressed that the litigants ought to have approached the court within three months after the cause of action arose.

Besides, the court held that the plaintiffs were bereft of the locus standi to file the case owing to their failure to present as exhibits, their letters of administration to the Estate as required by law and as proof of their claim as the Administrators.

Justice Lifu also agreed with Salamed Ventures that the Abacha property was lawfully revoked having breached agreements in the Right of Occupancy by erecting structures without first obtaining building plans.

Aside from dismissing the case, the court ordered the Abacha family to pay Salamed Ventures the sum of N500, 000 to cover the cost of the litigation.