The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by the family of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, to stop the Federal Government from reopening forfeiture proceedings against the former Head of State.
The appeal marked: SC/641/2013, was filed by Abacha’s sons, Mohammed and Abba, on behalf of their family.
Listed as respondents were the Attorney General of the Federation; the Inspector-General of Police; Chairman, Special Investigation Panel; National Security Adviser and Magistrate Sonja Nachbaur of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The move by the Federal Government to reopen the fraud probe was targeted at some family members over their alleged complicity in looting the nation’s treasury during Abacha’s rule.
The appeal was against the July 25, 2013 judgment by the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, which affirmed a 2009 judgment of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, which went against the family.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by Abacha’s family praying that the probe be stopped.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit and substance.
They pronounced that the concurrent findings by the two lower courts “are unassailable.”
