By Ayomide Oitoju
The Supreme Court on Friday struck out a suit filed by the 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) challenging the Federal Government’s alleged mismanagement of recovered looted funds.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a seven-member panel, the apex court ruled that the case was wrongly brought before it. Justice Mohammed Idris, who read the lead judgment prepared by Justice Chidiebere Uwa, held that the plaintiffs failed to properly invoke the court’s jurisdiction.
The justices determined that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, not the Supreme Court.
The states had accused the Federal Government of unlawfully diverting funds and assets recovered between 2015 and 2021, estimated at over ₦1.8 trillion in cash, 167 properties, 450 vehicles, 300 trucks, cargoes, and 20 million barrels of crude oil valued at over ₦450 billion. They claimed that the recovered assets, instead of being remitted to the Federation Account as constitutionally required, were illegally diverted to the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) and other accounts not recognised by the Nigerian Constitution.
According to the plaintiffs, the Federal Government’s establishment of separate accounts—namely, the Asset Recovery Account and the Interim Forfeiture Recovery Account—violates the provisions of the Constitution and undermines the revenue-sharing structure between the federal, state, and local governments.
Citing sections 80, 162(1), and 162(10) of the Constitution and the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958, the states argued that all recovered funds should be treated as revenue and remitted to the Federation Account for equitable distribution.
They had urged the apex court to compel the Federal Government to transfer the recovered assets into the Federation Account and provide a full disclosure of all assets recovered but not remitted. Additionally, they sought an order directing the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to design a framework for distributing such assets among the three tiers of government.
Despite the extensive arguments, the court maintained that the case was procedurally defective and should have been filed at the Federal High Court, effectively ending the legal challenge.
