A Federal High Court in Abuja has once more dismissed a suit brought against the federal government by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
The suit challenged the revocation of the property of the former military ruler located in the Maitama District of Abuja.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment on the case filed nine years ago, where the Abacha family members sought the return of their father’s mansions located at Osara Close in Maitama and N500M in compensation.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu based the dismissal on various grounds, including the statute of limitations as the suit was filed in 2015, long after it became statute-barred, and the lack of legal standing by those who initiated the case.
The suit was filed by Mohammed Sani Abacha, the eldest surviving son of the former military ruler, and his widow, Hajia Maryam Abacha, on behalf of the executors of the estate of the late military general.
This marks the fourth legal defeat for the family concerning the property, having lost twice at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on jurisdictional grounds.
The Abacha family had contested the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy of the property, alleging it was illegally done in breach of constitutional and statutory provisions.
Despite their claims, Justice Lifu agreed with arguments presented by the defendants, including Salamed Ventures Limited, which acquired the property from the federal government and argued that the suit was time-barred and lacked merit.
Consequently, the judge dismissed the suit and ordered the Abacha family to pay Salamed Ventures N500,000 as the cost of litigation.
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