Supreme Court Rejects Governors’ Claim To ₦1.8trn, ₦450bn Recovered Loot

The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Nigeria’s 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) against the Federal Government over the control and distribution of recovered looted funds.

In a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel, the apex court ruled that the suit was improperly filed and that the plaintiffs failed to invoke the court’s jurisdiction correctly. The lead judgment, authored by Justice Chidiebere Uwa and read by Justice Mohammed Idris, declared the case inadmissible.

The governors had accused the Federal Government of diverting over ₦1.8 trillion in recovered cash, along with 167 properties, 450 vehicles, 300 trucks and cargoes, and 20 million barrels of crude oil—assets valued at more than ₦450 billion—between 2015 and 2021. They argued that these assets were wrongfully paid into accounts such as the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) and other accounts not recognized by the Constitution, rather than the Federation Account, as required.

The plaintiffs further challenged the legality of the Asset Recovery Account and the Interim Forfeiture Recovery Account, asserting that both accounts and the Asset Recovery Regulation violated constitutional provisions. They claimed these mechanisms allowed the federal government to manage recovered assets unilaterally and outside the framework of the Constitution.

Citing Sections 80, 162(1), and 162(10) of the 1999 Constitution, along with the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958, the governors argued that all recovered funds must be treated as national revenue and deposited into the Federation Account. They also asked the court to compel the federal government to disclose all recovered assets and to instruct the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to create a framework for equitable sharing of such assets among all tiers of government.

However, the Supreme Court declined to hear the substantive claims, effectively backing the federal government’s management of recovered loot and ending the states’ legal challenge.