Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed a bid by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, to stop moves by the Federal Government to reopen criminal forfeiture proceedings against the former general.
The probe by the government is targeted at family members over their alleged complicity in looting the nation’s treasury during Abacha’s administration.
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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier endorsed the power of the Federal Government to reopen criminal forfeiture proceedings against the family.
The presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Agim, dismissed the suit for want of merit and substance.
The appeal marked: SC/641/2013 was filed by the eldest surviving son of the late Abacha, Mohammed and his brother, Abba.
Listed as respondents were the Attorney General of the Federation; the Inspector-General of Police; Chairman, Special Investigation Panel; National Security Adviser and Magistrate Sonja Nachbaur of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The move by the Federal Government to reopen the fraud probe was targeted at some family members over their alleged complicity in looting the nation’s treasury during Abacha’s rule.
The appeal was against the July 25, 2013 judgment by the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, which affirmed a 2009 judgment of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, which went against the family.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by Abacha’s family praying that the probe be stopped.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit and substance.
They pronounced that the concurrent findings by the two lower courts “are unassailable.”
