The family of General Sani Abacha, the late Nigerian dictator, has filed 11-grounds of appeal against President Bola Tinubu and Minister Nyesom Wike for the revocation of their property in Abuja’s Maitama district. They argue that the property was unlawfully revoked and handed over to one Salamed Ventures Limited.
The Abacha family, led in court by Dr. R. O. Atabo, SAN, is seeking the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stripped them of ownership of their property.
They argue that trial Justice Peter Lifu erred in law when he held that their claim to the property was previously dismissed by both the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and the Court of Appeal in 2009 and 2015. The appellants stressed that only the Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to determine the matter.
The Abacha family also faulted the trial court for declaring their suit as statute barred and for recognizing Salamed Ventures Limited as the 4th respondent who derived title to their property in dispute during the pendency of their case between the FCT Minister and the FCDA.
They argue that a party to a proceeding cannot transfer title to a 3rd party during the pendency of a legal action. They stressed that the revocation of the Appellants’ title to plot 3119 Maitama, Abuja and the subsequent sale to the 4th respondent during the pendency of a proceeding in Court is a clear violation of the extant law.
The Abacha family seeks an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from taking any further steps on the disputed property. They also seek an award of N500 million as damages to be paid by the defendants. However, the defendants themselves urged the court to dismiss the suit for lack of merit.
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