The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit filed by the 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) challenging the Federal Government’s handling of over N1.8 trillion in recovered looted assets. In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday by Mohammed Idris, based on a lead judgment prepared by Chidiebere Uwa, the apex court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, which properly belongs before the Federal High Court.

The suit, marked SC/CV/395/2021, was filed in 2021 and alleged that between 2015 and 2021, the Federal Government recovered looted assets totaling N1,836,906,543,658.73 in cash, alongside 167 properties, 450 cars, 300 trucks and cargoes, and 20 million barrels of crude oil valued at over N450 billion. The state governments claimed that these recoveries were not remitted to the Federation Account as required by the Constitution, but were instead diverted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and other accounts not recognized by law.

According to the plaintiffs, the CRF is intended only for the Federal Government’s share of the Federation Account and its exclusive earnings, including income from licenses, rents, administrative fees, and other federal revenue sources. They argued that the creation and use of accounts such as the Asset Recovery Account and Interim Forfeiture Recovery Account by the Federal Government and its agencies—including the EFCC, ICPC, Nigerian Police Force, and the Office of the Attorney-General—violated constitutional provisions.

Relying on sections 80, 162(1), and 162(10) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and Section 2 of the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958, the governors insisted that all proceeds from recovered assets constitute revenue that must be paid into the Federation Account for distribution among all tiers of government.

The plaintiffs had sought a court declaration affirming this position, an order mandating the remittance of the N1.8 trillion in cash and N450 billion in non-cash assets to the Federation Account, and a directive requiring the Federal Government to account for all unremitted recovered assets. They also requested that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) be ordered to design modalities for distributing such recovered assets equitably among federal, state, and local governments.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not the appropriate forum for such a dispute, and struck out the case accordingly.