Court Sets Judgment Over Abacha Family’s Bid To Regain Abuja Property Revoked By El-Rufai

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, fixed June 27 for judgment in a suit by the family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, challenging the revocation of the property of the former military ruler in the Maitama District of Abuja.

Justice Peter fixed the date after Abacha family’s lawyer, Dr Reuben Atabo, SAN, and those of the defendants led by Dr James Onoja, SAN, adopted their processes and argued their case for and against the suit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit was instituted by wife of the late General Abacha, Hajia Maryam Abacha and her eldest surviving son, Mohammed Sani Abacha.

The defendants in the suit are the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA); President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Salamed Ventures Limited as 1st to 4th respectively.

The applicants prayed the court to nullify and set aside the purported revocation of the certificate of occupancy (CoO) of the property of their late Abacha located in the Maitama District.

The CoO marked FCT/ABUKN 2478 covering plot 3119, issued on June 25, 1993, was said by the family to have been illegally and unlawfully revoked by the defendants.

In their statement of claims, the Abacha family said that the FCT, under Nasir El-Rufai, had instructed them to submit the CoO in their possession for re-certification.

They claimed that the 2nd plaintiff, Mohammed Sani Abacha, promptly complied with the directive by delivering the CoO to the FCDA and acknowledgement copy issued to him.

While waiting for a new CoO to be issued to them, plaintiffs asserted that Mohammed Abacha received a letter on Feb. 3, 2006, notifying them that the CoO had been revoked without any reason adduced in the letter.

Besides the failure to give any reason for the revocation, the Abacha family alleged that adequate compensation was not paid as required by law.

The family therefore asked the court to declare as unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void and of no effect, the purported revocation of the property.

They sought order of the court setting aside the purported revocation and holding that their CoO is valid and subsisting having been revoked without payment of adequate compensation.

According to them, the Certificate of Occupancy issued to the late Head of State was maliciously revoked without legal basis or justification

The plaintiffs asked for an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from taking any further step on the disputed revocation.

Similarly, they prayed Justice Lifu to award N500 million as damages to be paid to them by the four defendants.

However, the defendants in their separate counter affidavits and preliminary objections, asked for outright dismissal of the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2016.

The defendants claimed that the suit at the time it was instituted had become statute barred having not been filed within time allowed by law, among other arguments.

Although, some of the defendants were not in court at Wednesday’s proceedings, Justice Lifu invoked the rule of the court in adopting their processes already filed.(NAN)

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