The Court of Appeal on Friday affirmed a judgment ordering Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, to pay over ₦2.5 billion to 110 staff whose appointments were unlawfully terminated in 1996.
In two unanimous decisions, the appellate court upheld the November 30, 2015 ruling of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), which nullified the disengagement of the affected workers and ordered payment of their accumulated salaries and other entitlements.
The Court of Appeal also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately release the judgment sum to the former staff, warning that failure to comply would attract disciplinary action against the bank’s principal officers.
A three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang dismissed an appeal filed by ABU, the Federal Ministry of Education and the Attorney General of the Federation, describing the challenge to the NICN judgment as an afterthought.
“Having resolved the three issues formulated by the appellants against them, this appeal is devoid of merit. It is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Abang ruled, awarding ₦5 million in costs against the appellants in favour of the disengaged staff.
In a separate but related judgment, the Court of Appeal also dismissed an appeal by the CBN against a garnishee order absolute made by the NICN on January 27, 2022, which directed the apex bank to pay the judgment sum from ABU’s funds in its custody.
Justice Abang strongly criticised the CBN’s conduct, faulting the bank for withholding the funds despite the subsisting judgment.
“The CBN ought to have released that money to the judgment creditors when the judgment was not set aside or stayed,” he said. “Why is CBN holding the brief for the judgment debtors? The conduct of the CBN in this case is reckless and condemnable to the extreme.”
He added that it was not the duty of a garnishee to act as an advocate for judgment debtors or shield them from the consequences of a valid court judgment.
The court also criticised the role of CBN’s counsel, Senator Ita Enang, stating that he ought to have advised the bank against pursuing what the court described as a futile appeal.
“Since 2018 when the order nisi was made, the CBN has held on to the money and has been trading with it at the expense of the judgment creditors. This is man’s inhumanity to man,” Justice Abang said.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in CBN v. Interstella Communications Limited, the court held that the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation was not required before initiating garnishee proceedings, as the AGF was already a party to the substantive suit.
The appeal was dismissed, and the CBN was ordered to release the judgment sum without delay. An additional ₦5 million cost was awarded against the apex bank in favour of the affected staff.
Other members of the panel, Justices Adebukola Banjoko and Eberechi Wike, concurred with the lead judgments.