The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has dismissed separate appeals filed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, seeking to halt the payment of a N2.5 billion judgment debt owed to 110 former university workers who were unlawfully dismissed in 1996.
In two unanimous judgments delivered on Friday by a three-member panel of justices, the appellate court ordered the CBN to immediately release the N2.5 billion to the affected workers without further delay.
Delivering the lead judgments, Justice Okon Abang warned that severe sanctions would be imposed on key officials of the apex bank should it continue to withhold the funds, which ABU had deposited with the CBN as far back as 2018 for onward payment to the judgment creditors.
The court dismissed arguments by the CBN and ABU challenging the use of garnishee proceedings by the workers to enforce the judgment. Justice Abang rejected the CBN’s claim that the former employees, though ordered to be reinstated by the National Industrial Court, could not lawfully initiate garnishee proceedings against the bank to recover their entitlements.
The appellate court also struck out the CBN’s contention that the workers were required to obtain the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice before the judgment sum could be paid.
The appeals arose from a decision of the National Industrial Court, which held that the 110 workers were unlawfully sacked in 1996 by the sole administrator of ABU at the time, General Mamman Kontagora, and ordered the university to pay their outstanding entitlements.
Justice Rakiya Haastrup of the National Industrial Court had, on January 27, 2022, issued a garnishee order absolute directing the CBN to release the judgment sum from ABU’s funds in its custody to the workers. Upholding that order, Justice Abang ruled that the garnishee proceedings were properly initiated and in accordance with the law.
The Court of Appeal strongly criticised the CBN for deploying public funds to engage legal counsel in an attempt to frustrate the execution of the judgment. It described the bank’s conduct as reckless and reprehensible, noting that ABU had already lodged the money with the CBN specifically to settle the judgment debt.
Justice Abang emphasised that the CBN’s duty was to comply with and implement the court’s judgment, not to assume the role of an advocate in the matter, particularly in the absence of any contrary court order.
He further faulted the conduct of the CBN’s legal representatives, stating that they ought to have advised the bank against obstructing the judgment. According to the court, the actions of the apex bank unnecessarily prolonged the hardship and suffering of the affected workers, who have pursued the matter for years.
The two appeals were consequently dismissed in their entirety for lacking merit.
