Court dismisses Abacha family’s N500 million lawsuit against Nigerian government

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, challenging the Federal Government’s seizure of one of their properties in Maitama District, Abuja.

In his ruling on Monday, Judge Lifu dismissed the lawsuit, citing the statute of limitations, among other reasons.

“The lawsuit filed in 2015 was filed nine years after the revocation of ownership rights, so the lawsuit is not legally valid,” said Judge Lifu.

This marks the fourth legal defeat for the Abacha family over their property claims. Previous attempts at the Federal Capital Territory High Court and the Court of Appeal were also unsuccessful on jurisdictional grounds.

“The plaintiffs have no legal standing to bring the suit,” Judge Lifu said, accepting the arguments put forward by the defendants, including Salamed Ventures Limited.

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The family have been seeking to overturn the revocation of their Certificate of Occupancy over the property located at Osara Close, Maitama, which they claim was done unlawfully and without compensation.

“The court also noted that there were building code violations on the property, which was the reason for the revocation,” Judge Lifu concluded.

The court awarded costs of N500,000 against the plaintiff, to be paid to Salamed Ventures Limited, the fourth defendant in the suit.

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