Abacha's son tries to stop recovery of £2bn

The son of the late Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha went to the High Court yesterday to stop attempts by the British Government to recover almost £2bn allegedly looted by his father during his rule.

Lawyers for Mohammed Abacha and General Abacha's former partner, Abubakar Baguda, applied for a judicial review of the Home Secretary's decision to help the Nigerian government trace money it claimed was stolen from the country's treasury. The High Court had ordered banks to freeze accounts linked to General Abacha after the Home Secretary agreed to the appeal for help from Lagos. The case is seen as a test of the credibility of the Government's pledge to tighten money-laundering controls.

Clare Montgomery QC, appearing for Mr Abacha and Mr Baguda, said she appreciated it was "probably not the best moment" to be attacking moves to provide another country with mutual assistance in relation to serious crime. But, she added, "that doesn't matter" because her clients had been "subjected to draconian, invasive inquiry" and that no rational secretary of state would have granted assistance to the Nigerian authorities. The two men are also seeking judicial review of the Government's decision to supply material gathered in Britain to the authorities in Geneva, where a criminal investigation is under way involving the missing funds.

Ms Montgomery said the Government had adopted unfair procedures and had accepted the assertions of the Nigerian government at face value. She accused the Home Secretary of wrongly refusing to disclose relevant documents, including the Nigerian letter requesting assistance from Britain, to Mr Abacha and Mr Baguda so they could counter the allegations against them.

The Nigerian government claims General Abacha stole money earmarked for security spending, and money from international contracts relating to the supply of vaccines.

Mr Abacha and Mr Baguda claim they have repaid all the security money and have been granted immunity. The hearing is expected to last three days.