*Ex-Head of State’s family loses in its challenge of FG’s freezing of accounts in foreign countries

The family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha lost, on Friday, its bid to regain access to the many accounts held by its members in banks in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jersey, Liechenstein and Luxembourg blocked upon a directive by the Nigerian government in 1999.

A five-man panel of the Supreme Court held, in a judgment on Friday, that it was too late for the Abacha family to query the decision taken by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1999, via a letter authored by the then Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Kanu Agabi (SAN).

Justice Chima Nweze, who authored the panel’s lead judgment. in the appeal marked: SC/68/2010, held among others, that in view of the evidence presented by parties, he was left with no other options than to uphold the earlier concurrent decisions of the two lower courts (the Federal High Court, Kano and the Court of Appeal, Kaduna division), to the effect that the action was statute barred.

Justice Nweze was absent at the court’s proceedings on Friday but had his lead judgment read by Justice Amina Augie, who quoted him as saying: “In all forms, with the eloquent submission of the respondents’ counsel, and submissions anchored on the admitted evidence, I have no hesitation in affirming the concurrent decisions of the lower courts.

“Accordingly, I hereby enter an order dismissing this appeal. I further affirm the concurrent findings and decisions of the lower courts. Appeal dismissed.”

According to court documents, the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, in December 1999, authorized the then AGF, Agabi to request the Swiss authorities to freeze all bank accounts held in its jurisdiction by the late Head of State, General Abacha, his children, servants, agents and any other individuals or companies liked to them between 1993 and 1998.

The Nigeria government was also said to have requested the Swiss authorities to seize and detain all banking and other documents relating to the affected accounts, charge and prosecute all holders of such accounts, in order to recover and pay over to the Federal Government of Nigeria all monies falsely and fraudulently taken from the government and people of Nigeria.

Also, the FG was said to have engaged a foreign financial investigator, Enrico Monfrini of Hauchomann & Bottage in Geneva, Switzerland, to assist in recovering “all looted monies by Gen Abacha and his family members and other public servants and third parties who have used their position or participated as accomplices to misappropriate public funds.”

Following these steps by the Federal Government, the accounts of the Abachas found in Switzerland, United Kingdom, Jersey, Liechenstein and Luxembourg were frozen, an action members of the late Head of State challenged by filing a suit, marked: FHC/KN/CS/6/2004, on January 28, 2004 before the Federal High Court, Kano.

The suit filed on behalf of the Abachas by Alhaji Abba Mohammed Sani, had the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents.

After hearing parties, the court rendered its judgment in 2006, in which it upheld the argument by the respondents to the effect that the case was not only statute barred, the plaintiff could not relitigate the same case that had been decided by the court’s Abuja division in suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/347/2001brought by Sulgrave Holdings Inc & 19 others against the FRN & three others.

Alhaji Sani appealed the decision of the Federal High Court, Kano at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna. But in its judgment on December 15, 2009, the appellate court upheld the decision of the trail court and dismissed the appeal, a decision Alhaji Sani again appealed to the Supreme Court, which the apex court dismissed on Friday.

Other members of the Supreme Court’s five-man panel that heard the appeal, Justices Olukayode Ariwoola, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Augie and Paul Galumje, all agreed with the lead judgment as written by Justice Nweze.

https://thenationonlineng.net/supreme-court-refuses-to-unfreeze-abachas-accounts-in-switzerland-uk-others/

According to SERAP, public money looted by Abacha during his five years in power is estimated to be $5billion. Since September 1999 some $2.2billion has been returned to Nigeria from at least six countries.


But our current fraudulent President called Major General Buhari said ‘Abacha NEVER stole’.


Extremely kworupt individual claiming to be fighting kworuption.

Modified:
We appeal to Major General Buhari & his regime not to re-loot the returned loot.

crownwealth:
According to SERAP, public money looted by Abacha during his five years in power is estimated to be $5billion. Since September 1999 some $2.2billion has been returned to Nigeria from at least six countries.


But our current fraudulent President called Major General Buhari said ‘Abacha NEVER stole’.


Extremely kworupt individual claiming to be fighting kworuption.

And their many minions here online say the man was a saint, and that he didn't steal any money.

GenBuhari what do you think about this report?

Allah bless Abacha, the good man who saved our money for us.
If he didn't save the money for us all the christian presidents would have looted it.
Abacha never stole any money he only helped us keep the monies in foreign banks and that explains why we still get alert from him after his death.
Muslims are good and peaceful peoples.

Supreme Court Justice

He said that it got to a time where Nigeria was threatened with foreign sanctions.The late Gen.Abacha called a meeting of key stakeholders in Nigeria in which Abacha with them took the decision to keep money in foreign accounts in order to salvage Nigeria from the effect of the sanction.

http://igberetvnews.com/1337272/abacha-never-stole-money-loot-story-came-al-mustapha-video/

Guess it's the same monies Maj.Hamza Al-Mustapha said the late kleptomaniac Abacha saved in foreign banks that his family are laying claim to now? Bunch of criminals.

Wow!

Naija Don suffer, imagine untop our own money again

Please freeze the account till next regime assume office

Why does it take so many years for this countries to release stolen funds to the mother country even when they know fully that the money belongs to Nigeria. Even though I know the money will still be re-stolen but at least to preserve a Nation supremacy the money ought to be returned.

W

Dammmmn Nigggaaar

The supreme Court is not a real nigga, they should give the family access to Abacha's account, After all my popsy being a real nigga always told me this life na CICP (Chop I Chop Party)

Oboy! This Abacha loot long Oooo!. E go take more than 100yrs to repatriate everything


No wonder the Wife said “No matter how much they recover from them, they can never be as poor as Dangote.”
The money is too long that it’s being used to develop the countries it’s being stashed till they gets tired

Abacha really milked us oooo. How come his stolen money still haunts us . Gosh

crownwealth:
According to SERAP, public money looted by Abacha during his five years in power is estimated to be $5billion. Since September 1999 some $2.2billion has been returned to Nigeria from at least six countries.


But our current fraudulent President called Major General Buhari said ‘Abacha NEVER stole’.


Extremely kworupt individual claiming to be fighting kworuption.

he did not, abeg Abacha deserve national hero celebration he deserve a statue every year he kept on sending us money and you're calling such a person evil..

God bless Abacha abeg

If Abacha that wasn't known as a thief stole this much, then imagine the humongous thievery of IBB (the known International Babban Barawo) but nobody will touch him as a "bretton woods agent" plus that he's still alive.

All the presidential candidates paid homage to IBB despite leaving public service decaces ago... why?

Abacha's loot lost immunity when he died.

xpmode:

Buhari did not paid homage to IBB

I hope you're not a lazy youth... or is google not working on your phone?
Anyway, I've helped you with the simple task


What's tha business?

How could Abacha's stash have survived all these years in the freezer.

That supreme court refrigerator must have one_hell of a compressor.

The truth be told... All our leaders are extremely corrupt... No saints amongst them and yet we keep serving and funding their ego... All because we want heroes.

Unfreeze and share to the needy, don't give to those that can never be as poor as Dangote o.

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Abacha never stole..... Gen. Buhari, 2008

God make my money long pass Abacha looth

Hmm

When Tinubu and Atiku leave this stressful world to meet their seven virgins, many trillions of dollars will waste in foreign lands.

The sad part is that we will not be able to recover it like Abacha loots, because they've covered their tracks. The money will just waste while millions will still find it hard to get a meal per day.

Africa is a true cemetery

I thought Al mustpha said the money doesn't belong to his boss Abacha. So y is his family trying to claim it. This Al mustpha is high on Colorado

Ahhhh