The Supreme Court has denied the request by a brother to the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Ali Abacha, to unfreeze the accounts traced to him and relatives of the late Head of State in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg.
The judgement was in the appeal marked: SC/359/2010, filed by Ali Abacha, said to be a brother of the late Gen. Abacha.
In a unanimous judgement read on Friday, a five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta held that the plaintiff’s case was statute-barred as at when it was commenced in April 2004 at the Federal High Court in Kaduna State.
READ ALSO: Court Strikes Out Suit Against Pondei-led IMC, AGF, Senate, Others
In the lead judgement prepared by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and read by Justice Ejembi Eko, the court held that having dismissed a similar appeal in an earlier judgement given in February last year, it had no reason to depart from its reasoning in that case brought by Abba Mohammed Sani on behalf of the Abacha family.
According to the Supreme Court, it was noticed that the appellant in this appeal is represented by R. O. Atabo Esq, who, incidentally, was the appellant’s counsel in the earlier appeal.
“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 apex court held.
“Judgement was delivered on February 7, 2020. It is now reported in (2020) 2-3 SC (Pt. II). 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 authorisation given to the Swiss law firm by the respondents.
“In the earlier case, the contention was also that the respondents acted outside the scope of their duties under a repealed law and were therefore not entitled to seek refuge under section 2(a) of the Public Officer Protection Act.
READ ALSO: LAGOS EAST SENATORIAL DISTRICT: APPEAL COURT DISMISSES ABIRU AND APC’S CASES
“The only issue to be considered was whether, in the circumstances, the action was maintainable. The suit was in no doubt statute-barred and rightly struck out by the lower court.
“Incidentally, R.O Atabo also represented the appellant in Sani Vs the President & another.
“No new superior arguments were proferred here to warrant a departure from the decision in the case of Alhaji Sani, earlier decided. This appeal fails, and it is hereby dismissed. Parties to bear their costs.”
The appeal was filed against July 19, 2010, unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna division, in which a three-man panel set aside the September 24, 2004, judgement by Justice Mohammed Liman of Federal High Court, Kaduna, earlier given in favour of Ali Abacha.
Ali Abacha had approached the Federal High Court, Kaduna, in 2004, challenging among others, the 1999 decision by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, acting through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi (SAN), to request the freezing of all accounts traced to the late Abacha, his family members, and relatives in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg.
© ControlTV 2021.
