A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the family of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, challenging the revocation of his property in the Maitama District of Abuja.
The court ruled that the suit, filed in 2015, had become statute-barred and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal power to initiate the case.
In his judgment, Justice Peter Lifu stated, “The suit has become statute-barred at the time it was filed in 2015… Those who initiated the case have no locus standi to do so.”
The Abacha family had demanded the return of their father’s mansions and N500M compensation, claiming that the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy was illegal and unlawful. They argued that the Certificate of Occupancy marked FCT/ABUKN 2478 covering Plot 3119 issued on June 25, 1993, was illegally and unlawfully revoked by the defendants on January 16, 2006, in breach of Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 28 of the Land Use Act.
However, the court disagreed, citing breaches in the covenants of the Right of Occupancy. The defendants, including Salamed Ventures Limited, had argued that the suit was filed too late and that the plaintiffs failed to present necessary documents to prove their claim as administrators of the estate.
James Ogwu Onoja SAN, representing Salamed Ventures Limited, stated, “The suit, at the time it was instituted, had become statute-barred, having not been filed within three months of the cause of action allowed by law and thus, robbed the court of jurisdiction.”
The court also ordered the Abacha family to pay N500,000 as the cost of litigation, marking the fourth time the family has lost legal battles over the property.
