The family of the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, has filed an appeal against the high court judgment that upheld the Federal Government’s revocation of their property in Abuja.
On Monday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the Abacha family’s lawsuit, which challenged the government’s decision to revoke their property located in the Maitama District. The plaintiffs, Abacha’s wife Hajia Mariam Abacha and son Mohammed Abacha, argued that the government wrongfully revoked and sold the property to a private company, Salamed Ventures Limited, without their knowledge or compensation.
The Abacha family had sought the court’s intervention to have the property returned to them by the President and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who were named as defendants in the suit. However, Justice Lifu ruled that the suit, filed in 2015, was statute-barred and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to initiate the court action.
In response, the Abacha family, represented by their lawyer Reuben Atabo (SAN), has appealed to the Court of Appeal in Abuja. Their Notice of Appeal, which contains 11 grounds, asks the appellate court to invoke Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to assume jurisdiction over the case as a court of first instance and to render a just decision.
The family argues that Justice Lifu misapplied the law by relying on Section 39 of the Land Use Act to conclude that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction under the Land Use Act to recover land. They cite a Court of Appeal decision that the Federal High Court is the appropriate venue for such cases.
“By Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, judicial powers are vested in our courts, and it is the duty of courts to determine disputes between individuals and government or government agencies. Where a party to a proceeding transfers title to the property in dispute, such attitude is an affront to the authority of our courts and the same will not be condoned,” the family stated.
They further contended that the trial judge erred in law by upholding the revocation of their title to Plot 3119 Maitama, Abuja, despite the revocation not being conducted in accordance with Section 28 of the Land Use Act.
The Court of Appeal has yet to set a date for the hearing.
