Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, against the Federal Government of Nigeria. The case, which challenged the revocation of a property located in the Maitama District of Abuja, was dismissed for being statute-barred among other reasons.
The Abacha family filed the suit in 2015, demanding the return of their father’s mansion located at Osara Close in Maitama. This marks the fourth time the family has lost legal battles over property.
Previously, the family lost twice at a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on jurisdictional grounds. They then approached the Federal High Court to institute a new case, arguing that the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the property was illegal and unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs claimed the C of O, issued on June 25, 1993, was revoked on January 16, 2006, in breach of the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act. The defendants in the suit included the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Federal Capital Development Authority, the President of Nigeria, and Salamed Ventures Limited.
The plaintiffs contended that the FCT under Nasir El-Rufai had instructed them to submit the C of O for re-certification between 2004 and 2005. They claimed to have complied but later received a letter in February 2006 stating the C of O had been revoked without reason or compensation.
The plaintiffs sought an order to nullify the revocation and an injunction prohibiting further actions on the property, along with N500 million in damages.
Justice Lifu held that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to file the suit, as they failed to present letters of administration to the Estate as required by law. The judge agreed with the 4th defendant, Salamed Ventures Limited, that the case was statute-barred since it was not filed within three months of the cause of action.
The judge dismissed the suit and awarded N500,000 in litigation costs against the plaintiffs, to be paid to Salamed Ventures. Salamed Ventures had purchased the disputed property from the federal government for N595 million and was issued a new Certificate of Occupancy in 2011.
