Abacha Loot: Supreme Court dismisses family’s suit
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the family of late military head of state, Sani Abacha, to have accounts in UK, Switzerland, Jersey, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg linked to the family unfreezed.
Ali Abacha, a brother to the ex-military ruler, on behalf of the family appealed to the apex court to grant the family access to the accounts.
In a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Centus Nweze, the apex court ruled that the case was statute-barred dating back to April 2004 when it was first brought before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
The judgement read by Justice Ejembi Eko stated that a similar appeal filed on behalf of the Abacha family by Abba Mohammed Sani was dismissed in February last year.
“It is pertinent to state at this juncture that a case with the same facts and issues was decided recently by this court in SC. 68/2010 Alhaji Abba Mohammed Sani Vs the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation.” The Judge read. “Although the appellants are different, the facts and issues in contention are the same. Both had their bank accounts in Switzerland and other countries frozen as a result of the authorization given to the Swiss law firm by the respondents. In conclusion, I find this appeal to be devoid of merit. It is hereby dismissed. “
The junta heads’ accounts had been initially frozen by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. The accounts traceable to his family members and agents had also been frozen between 1993-1998, following an application by former attorney-general Kanu Agabi (SAN).
The Swiss authorities were asked to detain all other documents relating to the frozen accounts, as well as prosecute the holders of those accounts, in a bid to recover the stolen monies for Nigeria.
The late military head of state, Mr. Abacha, reportedly looted and stashed funds in several foreign banks before his demise on June 8, 1998.
In April 2020, the attorney-general’s office had disclosed that the country recovered over $311 million of the stolen funds by the country’s former military ruler after an agreement was signed in February with the United States.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
NOA seeks collaboration with Edo broadcasting service on public orientation
Mr Ani commended the agency for its vital role in educating Nigerians on government policies and programmes.
NationWide
Most births, deaths not officially registered, says NPC
Mr Yusuf said Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually.
Opinion
Azu Ishiekwene: Another view on the matter of akara
This chill-less generation would not only welcome the Good Samaritan but also demand authenticity and scrutinise him.
Heading 1
Asaba Incident: ‎NCAA grounds aircraft, bans pilots from flying in Nigeria’s airspace amid probe
Mr ‎Najomo expressed surprise over the circumstances surrounding the incident.
States
Lagos man in court for alleged N3 million Kuwait work visa fraud
The prosecutor said the offences contravene the provisions of sections 287, 314 and 411, of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
NationWide
NBC expands FreeTV access to mobile devices
The National Broadcasting Commission says Nigerians can now access Free TV services on mobile devices through a dedicated application, alongside satellite decoders.
