KADUNA — THE Federal Government has appealed against the judgement of a Federal High Court which declared as illegal, the freezing of the bank accounts of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha and members of his family by the government.
Government has also filed a motion at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, asking for a stay of execution of its judgement pending the determination of the appeal. In a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, the Federal Government stated that it was dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Liman. Liman had on September 24, 2004 ruled that the Federal Government did not follow due process of the law in its pursuit of the funds allegedly looted by late Gen Abacha and members of his family, adding that the law relied upon by President Olusegun Obasanjo in freezing their accounts was non-existent. Abdullahi awarded N20,000 as costs against the Federal Government.
However, in an 11-point grounds of appeals filed by counsel to the Federal Government, Paul Erokoro, the government stated that the learned trial judge, Justice Liman erred in law by hearing the case when it was already statute barred. It was stressed that the judge should have dismissed the suit bearing in mind the provisions of the Public Officers Protection Act which stated that the action should have been brought within three months of the date of the alleged wrongful conduct by the defendant.
“The reason advanced by the learned trial judge for failing to give effect to the provisions of the Public Officers Protection Act, namely, that “the action of the defendant lacked semblance of legal justification’is invalid in law. The Federal Government further stated that there were elements of “malice, absence of good faith or absence of semblance of legal justification” in the judgement of Justice Liman as it was not given fair hearing during the trial.
“The plaintiff’s claim was too vague to have been entertained by the court as the claim gave no particulars of his accounts allegedly frozen and contained no nexus between the plaintiff and the defendants actions being challenged in the case.” Exhibit relied upon by the plaintiff to establish that his account hand been frozen did not mention the plaintiff’s name or his alleged accounts... “The plaintiff whose name, address and description were given in the suit as Alhaji Ali Abacha of Number10 Guava Road, Kaduna, a businessman, neither averred nor deposed to the fact that he was the same person described in Exhibit ‘D’ as Mr Ali Abacha, brother of Gen Sani Abacha of 1/9 Gidado Road, Nassarawa, Kano; member of the criminal organisation put in place by Gen Sani Abacha in order to carry out corruption and embezzlement of public funds”... the government stated.”
It also averred that the lower court notified the plaintiff about the date of the delivery of judgement whereas the same court did not notify the government, thereby showing bias in favour of the plaintiff.
