The family of the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, has filed an 11-grounds appeal against President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the revocation of their property in Abuja’s Maitama district.
The appeal, lodged before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, involves Hajia Maryam Abacha and her eldest surviving son, Mohammed. They are seeking the return of the property covered by the Certificate of Occupancy FCT/ABUKN 2478, issued on June 25, 1993, which they claim was unlawfully revoked and handed over to Salamed Ventures Limited.
Alongside President Tinubu and Mr. Wike, the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA) is also named as a respondent. The Abacha family’s legal team, led by Dr. R. O. Atabo, SAN, is challenging a Federal High Court judgment from July 19, which stripped them of the property.
“The trial judge erred in law by holding that our claim to the property was previously dismissed by both the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Court of Appeal in 2009 and 2015, respectively,” the appellants argued, noting that the courts had only struck out the case due to jurisdictional issues.
The family contends that Justice Peter Lifu wrongfully declared their suit statute-barred and overlooked their legal right to file the case. They highlighted that the Federal High Court is the proper jurisdiction for their claim and criticized the court for failing to address the issue of their locus standi.
“The revocation of our title was not in accordance with Section 28 of the Land Use Act, and the trial judge wrongly recognized Salamed Ventures as a respondent during the pendency of our case,” the appellants stated, adding that the transfer of the property to Salamed Ventures during the ongoing legal proceedings was illegal.
They are urging the appellate court to overturn the lower court’s decision and recognize the validity of their original Certificate of Occupancy. They also seek an injunction against further actions on the disputed revocation and N500 million in damages.
The case has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.
Justice Lifu’s initial ruling dismissed the Abacha family’s suit, citing the statute of limitations and lack of locus standi. The court also ordered the family to pay N500,000 in litigation costs to Salamed Ventures.
