Why Abacha family lost bid at Supreme Court to access looted funds

Legal attempts by the family of the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha on Friday to regain access to the many accounts held by its members in banks in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jersey, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg which were blocked upon a directive by the Nigerian government in 1999 failed on Friday at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court specifically held in its unanimous judgment that the appeal by family members of the late head of state was statute-barred.

A five-member panel of the apex court held, that it was rather late in the day 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 prepared the led judgment of the court, 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.

In the judgment which was 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, authorised 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.