By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday dismissed separate appeals filed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, seeking to halt the payment of a ₦2.5 billion judgment debt owed to 110 former university employees unlawfully dismissed in 1996.
In two unanimous judgments delivered by a three-member panel of justices, the appellate court ordered the CBN to immediately release the funds to the affected workers without further delay.
Delivering the lead judgments, Justice Okon Abang warned that severe sanctions would be imposed on the officials responsible if the apex bank continued to withhold the funds, which have been in its custody since 2018 after being deposited by ABU for settlement of the judgment debt.
Justice Abang dismissed the CBN’s argument that the former workers could not initiate garnishee proceedings against the bank to enforce payment of the judgment sum. He also rejected the bank’s claim that the consent of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice was required before the funds could be released.
The appeals by CBN and ABU challenged the enforcement of the judgment of the National Industrial Court, which had ordered ABU to pay the entitlements of the 110 workers after finding that they were unlawfully dismissed by the then Sole Administrator of the university, General Mamman Kontagora, in 1996.
Both appellants also objected to the use of garnishee proceedings by the workers to enforce payment. The Court of Appeal, however, found the appeals unmeritorious and dismissed them in their entirety.
Justice Rakiya Haastrup of the National Industrial Court had on January 27, 2022, issued a garnishee order absolute directing the CBN to pay the judgment sum to the workers from ABU’s funds domiciled with the bank.
Affirming the decision, Justice Abang held that the workers were entitled under the law to institute garnishee proceedings against the CBN to enforce payment of their entitlements.
The appellate court strongly criticised the CBN for expending public funds to engage legal services aimed at frustrating the execution of the judgment. It described the bank’s conduct as reckless and reprehensible, noting that ABU had already deposited the money with the CBN for the sole purpose of settling the debt.
The court held that it was not the duty of the CBN to assume the role of an advocate but to comply with and implement a valid court judgment in the absence of any contrary order. It further faulted the bank’s legal representation for supporting actions that delayed the workers’ access to the judgment sum.
According to the court, the actions of the CBN had unnecessarily prolonged the hardship and suffering of the workers, who have pursued the case since 2013.
“There is no lawful basis for the CBN to have filed this appeal, as no claim was made against it by the workers,” Justice Abang stated, adding that the appeal amounted to a waste of judicial time.
The court awarded ₦5 million in costs against the CBN and an additional ₦5 million against ABU, both payable to the workers, in addition to the ₦2.5 billion judgment debt.
