Leadnaija
The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Federal Government over the management and distribution of recovered looted funds.
The suit was filed by the 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
Delivering judgment in the high-profile constitutional dispute, a seven-member panel of the apex court held unanimously that the case was wrongly brought before it. In the lead judgment prepared by Justice Chidiebere Uwa and read by Justice Mohammed Idris, the court ruled that the matter fell under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
The suit, marked SC/CV/395/2021, sought to challenge the Federal Government’s alleged failure to remit approximately N1.8 trillion in cash and other assets recovered between 2015 and 2021 into the Federation Account, as constitutionally required.
According to the plaintiffs, “between 2015 and 2021 when the suit was filed, the FG has secured both international and municipal forfeiture, recovery and repatriation of ‘stolen assets’ in the sum of N1,836,906,543,658.73, about 167 properties, 450 cars, 300 trucks and cargoes, and 20,000,000 barrels of crude oil worth over N450 million,” which they alleged were diverted into unauthorised accounts.
They accused the Federal Government of bypassing the Federation Account by channelling the funds into the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) and other accounts not recognised by the Nigerian Constitution.
The states maintained that “it is unconstitutional to remit or divert revenue payable into the Federation Account to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government or any other account whatsoever, or to apply the said revenue to any other purpose.”
