A prominent victim of Gen. Abacha’s human rights abuses has approached a US Court urging it to stop the repatriation of Abacha’s loot to the Bagudu family and urging it to consider Nigerian victims instead.
Emmanuel Ogebe, a human rights lawyer who was abducted and tortured at the Aso Rock presidential villa Abuja by Abacha’s killer squad in the ‘90s, recently filed an Amicus Brief in the US District Court in Washington to this effect.
Part of the motion reads:
“Now comes Movant with a motion seeking leave to file a brief in the above matter to aid the court in the resolution of this intractable litigation. Movant also respectfully seeks leave to file said Amicus Brief out of time due to exigent circumstances. Pursuant to above, Movant/Amicus states thus:
1. In November, 2022, Plaintiff, the United States of America, and Claimant, Ibrahim Bagudu filed a joint status report asking the Court to provide the parties additional time to complete their settlement, in continuation of a multi-year stay currently in effect, in a decade-long litigation over a quarter century old crime. This is indicative of the complexity of this multi-national matter which this Amicus brief attempts to attenuate.
2. Parties also advised that “Plaintiff has retained UK counsel and conferred on multiple occasions with its government counterparts in the UK and Federal Republic of Nigeria, while Claimant has been consulting with UK counsel for other impacted parties (i.e. counsel for Governor Abubakar Bagudu, the Blue Holdings Companies, and beneficiaries of the Blue Family
Trusts).” This is indicative of the existence of multifarious non-party impacted actors whose interests are at stake – some of whom this Amicus brief will highlight.
3. Movant/Amicus is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria of over 30 years good standing and the first to be licensed as a Special Legal Consultant on Nigeria by the Washington DC Bar two decades ago. As a top US Nigeria Affairs expert who has testified in the US and Canadian parliaments and courts as well as advised UK parliament amongst others, Movant/Amicus is eminently placed to speak as an Amicus Curiae. Amicus has testified and made recommendations about the defendant funds in the US Congress and also co-drafted several bills on this subject.
4.. Movant/Amicus was abducted, unlawfully detained and tortured by late Nigerian military dictator Gen. Abacha’s killer squad as a young human rights lawyer and prodemocracy activist forcing his exile to USA over 25 years ago. As a victim of General Abacha’s brutal misrule, Movant/Amicus is amongst the class of victims of horrendous human rights abuses who never got justice or compensation and therefore have an interest in the disposition of the “Abacha loot” (aka the defendant assets) in this case. An Amicus brief gives voice to marginalized victims.
5. The defendant funds were looted from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and her citizens but the interests of the citizens of Nigeria have not been assiduously represented in this matter due to non-cooperation by the Nigerian government in the forfeiture process. An Amicus brief will help elucidate and mitigate this anomaly.
6. The Court finds itself in the unenviable conundrum of being asked to return millions looted from a poor Africa nation, which is the poverty capital of the world, to those behind what was at the time the largest grand larceny in the world – a quarter century later. An Amicus brief will help ameliorate this travesty and unburden the court.
7. This Amicus brief provides relevant facts, perspective, moral clarity and critical guidance for the court to effect optimal justice in resolving this case, speedily and equitably, that have not been previously canvassed.
8. Amicus has not been funded by any party or any other in this filing nor received drafting assistance. Amicus does not side with either party as Amicus brief is not predicated on the numerous filings in the docket over the past decade. Rather it is premised largely on expertise and monitoring of these issues over time.
9. Parties are not prejudiced by this motion as the matter has been in a state of animated suspension for several years and Claimant continues to draw an annuity from the defendant funds regardless, from all accounts.
10. The proposed Amicus brief is annexed hereto and is within the word count limit.
Whereof, Movant/Amicus, respectfully asks that the court grant leave for this Amicus brief to be filed and that it be deemed filed timeously pursuant to Rule 29.”