Abacha family loses land revocation suit against Nigerian government

The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed on Monday a suit filed by the family of the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, challenging the Nigerian government’s revocation of the deceased military ruler’s property in the Maitama District of Abuja.

The suit was brought by the widow of the late Mr Abacha, Maryam Abacha, and her eldest surviving son, Mohammed Abacha.

They alleged that the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) marked FCT/ABUKN 2478, covering their mansion at Plot 3119 and issued on 25 June 1993, was unlawfully revoked by the defendants.

The revocation occurred in February 2006 during the time of Nasir el-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and almost 13 years after the dictator’s demise.

In their suit, the family sought the return of the property at Osara Close in Maitama, Abuja and N500 million for the alleged illegal revocation.

Those they sued as defendants in the suit were the FCT minister, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the Nigerian president, and Salamed Ventures Limited, who later acquired the property.

The late Mr Abacha, who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist from 1993 until he died in 1998, was a military dictator often remembered for the feverish kleptocracy and brutal human rights violations of his regime.

His family has instituted a series of legal battles to recover various assets, including the Maitama property, seized from them at home and abroad after his death.

Ruling

Delivering judgement on their suit filed for the recovery of the Abuja property, the judge, Peter Lifu, held that the case filed nine years ago was statute-barred.

He ruled that the cause of action arose in February 2006 when the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) was revoked, but the case was filed in May 2015.

The judge said the filing came outside the legal timeframe for challenging the action of a public officer.

The judge also found the plaintiffs lacked locus standi, as they failed to present letters of administration for the estate.

He ruled that the property revocation was lawful due to breaches of the Right of Occupancy’s covenants, including constructing buildings without approved plans.

The court ordered the Abacha family to pay N500 million in litigation costs to Salamed Ventures Limited.

Plaintiffs’ grievances, prayers

In their statement of claims, the Abacha family members said that the then Minister of FCT and would-be governor of Kaduna State, Mr El-Rufai, had instructed them to submit the C of O in their possession for re-certification.

They claimed that Mohammed Sani Abacha, the second plaintiff, promptly complied with the directive by delivering the C of O to the FCDA, and an acknowledgement copy was issued to him.

While waiting for a new C of O to be issued to them, Mohammed Abacha said he received a letter on 3 February 2006 notifying them that the C of O had been revoked without any reason adduced in the letter.

Mohammed Sani Abacha

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

The family, through their lawyer, Reuben Atabo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), sued the Nigerian government and other defendants to declare as unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void and of no effect the revocation of the property.

According to the plaintiffs, the C of O issued to the late Head of State in June 1993 was revoked without explanation in February 2006, violating the Nigerian constitution and the Land Use Act.

They sought an order from the court to set aside the purported revocation and hold that their C of O remains valid because its revocation was done without adequate compensation.

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

Similarly, they prayed for an award of N500 million as damages.

Defence

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

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

Salamed Ventures’sVentures’s lawyer, James Onoja, a SAN, argued that the suit was a mere academic exercise, lacking merit. He noted that Salamed Ventures acquired the property from the government for $1.3 million and held a valid C of O issued in May 2011.

Although some of the defendants were not in court in May proceedings, the judge, Mr Lifu, invoked the rule of the court in adopting their processes already filed.

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The court upheld the Nigerian government’s and other defendants’ objections in its judgement on Monday.

It was the fourth major legal defeat the Abacha family has suffered in their beat to reclaim the property.

They lost twice at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, all on jurisdictional grounds.

The late Abacha seized power on 17 November 1993 after he dislodged the Ernest Shonekan-led interim government installed by the regime of Ibrahim Babangida.

He led a brutal regime for five years and was planning to transition to a civilian ruler when he suddenly died in office in 1998.