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Abuja property: Court strikes out Abacha family’s N500m suit
Abuja property: Court strikes out Abacha family’s N500m suit
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted against the federal government by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, challenging the revocation of the property of the former military ruler located in the Maitama District of Abuja.
Justice Peter Lifu dismissed the suit in a judgement on the case filed nine years ago in which the Abacha family members are demanding the return of their father’s mansions located at Osara Close in Maitama and N500M compensation.
In the judgment, Justice Lifu predicated the dismissal on various grounds, among which are that the suit had become statute-barred at the time it was filed in 2015 and that those who initiated the case have no locus standi (legal power) to do so.
The suit was filed by Mohammed Sani Abacha, the eldest surviving son of the former military ruler, and the widow, Hajia Maryam Abacha, on behalf of the executors of the estate of the late military general.
Listed as 1st to 4th Defendants in the suit are the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (MFCT), Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Salamed Ventures Limited.
The new dismissal of the suit marked the fourth time the family would lose legal battles on the property in court, having lost twice at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on grounds of jurisdiction.
Upon shifting the battle to the Federal High Court, the Abacha family, among others, prayed the Court to nullify and set aside the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the property of the late General Abacha.
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The grouse of the family was that the Certificate of Occupancy marked FCT/ABUKN 2478 covering Plot 3119 issued on June 25, 1993, was illegally and unlawfully revoked by the defendants on January 16, 2006, in breach of Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 28 of the Land Use Act.
In their statement of claims, the Abacha family said the FCT under Nasir El-Rufai had, between 2004 and 2005, instructed them to submit the Certificate of Occupancy in their possession for re-certification.
They claimed that the 2nd plaintiff, Mohammed Sani Abacha, promptly complied with the directive by delivering the Certificate of Occupancy to the FCDA, and an acknowledgement copy was issued to him.
While waiting for a new Certificate of Occupancy to be issued to them, the plaintiffs asserted that Mohammed Abacha received a letter on February 3, 2006, notifying them that the Certificate of Occupancy had been revoked without any reason adduced in the letter.
Besides the failure to give any reason for the revocation, the Abacha family alleged that adequate compensation was not paid.
The family, therefore, asked Justice Lifu to declare as unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null, and void, the revocation of the property and also sought an order setting aside the revocation and holding that their Certificate of Occupancy is valid and subsisting.
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The plaintiffs asked for an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from taking any further steps on the disputed property and to also compel the defendants to pay them N500M as damages.
However, the defendants, in their separate counter-affidavits and preliminary objections, asked for the outright dismissal of the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2016.
Specifically, the 4th defendant, Salamed Ventures Limited, represented by James Ogwu Onoja SAN, argued that the suit, at the time it was instituted, had become statute-barred, having not been filed within three months of the cause of action allowed by law and thus, robbed the court of jurisdiction.
Onoja SAN submitted that the suit was caught by the provisions of the Public Officers Protection Act and had become a mere academic exercise and asked the Judge to dismiss it for being frivolous and lacking in merit.
The senior lawyer said that Salamed Ventures Limited became the owners of the disputed property upon its purchase from the federal government at N595M and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy number 181dw-3adcz-721r-15a8-10 of May 25, 2011.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu agreed with Onoja SAN that the cause of action arose on February 3, 2006, when the Certificate of Occupancy was revoked, while the case was filed in May 2015, years after the revocation and far more than three months it ought to have been filed.
Besides, the judge held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to file the case upon their failure to present as exhibits their letters of administration to the estate as required by law and as proof of their claim as the administrators.
Justice Lifu also agreed with Salamed Ventures that the Abacha property was lawfully revoked upon breaches in the covenants in the Right of Occupancy by erecting structures without first obtaining building plans.
The judge then dismissed the suit and ordered the Abacha family to pay Salamed Ventures N500,000 as the cost of litigation.
(DailyPost)
Abuja property: Court strikes out Abacha family’s N500m suit
metro
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
The Osun State Police Command has said that it has arrested seven suspects for possession of human body parts.
The police made this revelation to journalists while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.
The suspects paraded include Johnson Daniel, Adetunji Okunade, Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope Asimiyu, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasak and Asaka Rauf.
Addressing journalists, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Giwa-Alade Emmanuel also said suspected human bone fragments, a female pant and note books were recovered as exhibits from the suspects at the point of arrest.
He said, “The above named suspects were arrested upon a credible information from a good spirited individual that, one Johnson Daniel ‘m’ a mortuary attendant at lpetu-ljesa sells portions of human remains deposited at the mortuary to native doctors whose names are listed above.
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“The said suspects use these remains gotten from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for different ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that, he conspired with one other mortuary attendant named Adetunji Okunade ‘m’ to sell remnant of water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors.
“In the course of investigation, search were conducted at the residences of these suspects which led to the recovery of fragment of substances suspected to be human skull at Asaka Rauf ‘m’ and Oladapo Hammed ‘m’ residences while a female pant and a note book containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence.”
Giwa-Alade hinted that the suspects have been charged to court.
Similarly, the police paraded Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hasan Ibrahim, Oba Wasiu and Olajide Oladapo for alleged armed robbery.
Exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include a Ford Jeep with registration number SMK945OS, Hunter motorcycle with registration number WWD604QF, one empty shell cartridge, one Iphone and one magnet.
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
metro
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
Many terrorists have been neutralised in Kaduna State after they were ambushed in a sting by troops.
The troops also recovered weapons, logistics and rescued hostages during the operation that took place on 17 September 2024.
The Nigerian Army announced the triumph in a statement on its social media platform on Wednesday.
According to the statement, acting on credible intelligence, the troops intercepted the terrorists while they are attempting to cross from Alawa Forest in Niger State to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.
“The ambush led to a fierce firefight, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists, while others managed to flee. Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, two magazines, and three motorcycles at the scene,” it said.
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In a separate operation, troops acted on intelligence about the movement of terrorists at Hayin Nakwakina village in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“Troops sprung an ambush against the terrorists, neutralizing two of them and subsequently restoring normalcy in the village that had been earlier displaced by the terrorists.
“Troops also recovered two motorcycles, a mobile phone, and machetes abandoned by the fleeing terrorists,” it said.
Responding to a distress call on Tuesday, 17 September 2024, troops rescued 20 hostages who had been abducted by marauding terrorists along the Kwaga-Polewire axis of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The troops successfully rescued the abductees after a shootout that overwhelmed the terrorists, compelling them to flee.
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
metro
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
Another boat carrying 46 passengers capsized in Mashayar Garba Rogo, Bukkuyum town, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara state, resulting in the d3ath of four children.
The latest incident occurred around 10:30 am on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, barely a week after a boat mishap in Gummi Local Government Area of the state claimed over 30 lives.
According to a local resident, Malam Aliyu Umar Bukkuyum, two bodies of the children were recovered, while the other two remain missing.
Twelve people are currently unconscious and receiving treatment at General Hospital Bukkuyum.
One of the survivors, Buhari Usman (also known as Messi), reported that the boat had about 50 passengers, mostly children and a few adults, who were travelling across the Zamfara River to reach their farms.
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He explained that midway through the journey, the boat began to behave erratically and capsized despite efforts by the boat captains to stabilize it.
“I personally rescued 12 children and some adults. We managed to save a good number of the victims, but unfortunately, four died. Two bodies have been recovered, while the other two remain missing,” he said.
The Sole Administrator of Bukkuyum, Hon. Nasiru Muhammad (DG), confirmed the incident, attributing it to overloading, anxiety, and failure to follow proper boating guidelines.
He noted that the government is caring for the 12 rescued victims at the hospital and promised that measures would be taken to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Search efforts are ongoing to locate the two missing passengers.
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
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