Gladness Gideon
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a suit filed by the 36 states of the federation and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), challenging the Federal Government’s handling and alleged diversion of over ₦1.8 trillion in recovered looted assets.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris on behalf of the seven-member panel, the apex court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, stating that the matter should have been filed before the Federal High Court.
The lead judgment, authored by Justice Chidiebere Uwa, affirmed that the plaintiffs wrongly approached the Supreme Court, and as such, the case was “incompetent and liable to be struck out.”
The governors, under the aegis of the NGF, filed the suit marked SC/CV/395/2021, accusing the Federal Government of violating constitutional provisions in the management of funds and assets recovered between 2015 and 2021.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs alleged that the Federal Government recovered a total of ₦1,836,906,543,658.73 in cash and seized approximately 167 properties, 450 vehicles, 300 trucks and cargoes, and 20 million barrels of crude oil valued at over ₦450 billion during the period.
They argued that these assets were not remitted to the Federation Account as mandated by Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), but instead diverted into the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) and other accounts not recognised by law.
The states contended that the CRA is exclusively for the Federal Government’s revenue and earnings and should not accommodate shared national assets or funds meant for distribution among all tiers of government.
READ ALSO: FCTA Civil Servants Fight for Pay After Wrongful Ghost Worker Label
They cited multiple constitutional and statutory provisions, including Section 80 of the Constitution and Section 2 of the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958, to back their position that all recovered proceeds belong to the Federation and must be equitably shared.
The plaintiffs had sought several reliefs from the court, including a declaration that all proceeds from recovered assets constitute revenue for the Federation and an order compelling the Federal Government to remit the recovered funds and assets to the Federation Account.
Additionally, they requested that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission be directed to formulate a framework for equitable distribution of such assets among the three tiers of government.
Despite the weight of the claims, the apex court held that it lacked original jurisdiction to resolve the issues, stating that the plaintiffs ought to have initiated the suit at the appropriate lower court.
With this decision, the long-running dispute over the remittance and distribution of recovered national assets has effectively been closed at the apex court level, unless the matter is refiled in a lower court.