The family of the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha, on Tuesday approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, to void and set aside Justice Peter Lifu’s judgment dismissing a property suit the family brought before the lower court.
Justice Lifu dismissed the suit the family instituted against the Federal Government on Monday, July 22, 2024, challenging the propriety of revocation of the property of the former Military head of state.
In the judgment, Lifu predicated the dismissal on various grounds, among which were that the suit had become statute-barred when it was filed in 2015 and that those who initiated the case had no locus standi (legal power) to do so.
Abacha’s wife, Mariam Abacha, and son, Mohammed Abacha, dissatisfied with this judgment, approached the Appeal Court claiming that the federal government revoked their ownership of the property and sold it to a private company, Salamed Ventures Limited, without their knowledge or compensation.
The family, in the appeal, sued the President, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and two others for alleged unlawful revocation of the property located in the Maitama district in Abuja at the
The notice of appeal filed by Reuben Atabo (SAN) on behalf of the appellants (Mariam and son), predicated on 11 grounds and two major reliefs, prayed the Appeal Court to invoke section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to take over the legal battle as a court of first instance and do justice to the matter.
The respondents in the appeal are the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Federal Capital Development Authority, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Salamed Ventures Limited.
