Candide-Johnson is demanding his pension, severance gratuity, and other entitlements from the Lagos State government, a year after his retirement.
The Lagos State Government is seeking to explore an out-of-court settlement with a retired judge of the Lagos High Court, Justice Babajide Candide-Johnson, who instituted a lawsuit before a National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Lagos.
Candide-Johnson is demanding his pension, severance gratuity, and other entitlements from the Lagos State government, a year after his retirement.
At the resumed hearing of the suit on Wednesday, the state government through its lawyer, Saheed Quadri asked Justice Maureen Esowe of the NICN to grant an adjournment to enable parties in the matter to discuss and agree on a settlement. Quadri urged the judge to grant an adjournment for four weeks.
Justice Esowe further adjourned the matter till May 9, 2022.
The claimant’s lawyer, Yemi Candide-Johnson (SAN) did not oppose the request but asked the state government to withdraw its preliminary objection to the suit to demonstrate that the request for settlement was done in good faith.
Quadri, however, opposed the move, insisting that he was optimistic about the settlement talks.
The trial judge, Justice Esowe in her response, said the rules of the National Industrial Court allow parties to seek an amicable settlement between parties.
The retired Judge is also seeking an order directing the Lagos State Governor to forthwith calculate his pension based on the provisions of Section 291 (2) and (3a-c) of the 1999 constitution as well as Section 2 of the Pensions Rights of Judges Act to pay him the sum of N21,145,551.06 (Twenty-One Million, One Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-One Naira, Six Kobo).
The retired judge who demanded N10 million as general damages for failure to pay his pension and gratuity in accordance with the law said during his years of service, he was enrolled in the contributory pension scheme of the Civil Service of Lagos State. Consequent to this enrollment, several sums were deducted from his monthly salary by the Lagos State Government as his contribution to his pension.
According to the documents in court, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, and the Pension Rights of Judges Act, he is entitled to a minimum lifetime pension of N21,145,551.06 (Twenty-One Million, One Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-One Naira, Six Kobo).
In addition, the retired judge says that upon his retirement in June 2021, he is entitled to be paid and to receive 300 percent of his annual basic salary while in office by virtue of the Certain Political, Public, and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Amendment Act of 2008.
"Despite these abundantly clear and instructive provisions of the Law, the Lagos State Government, which he sued as the first defendant, has failed to comply strictly with the provisions of the constitution and the Pensions Rights of Judges in ensuring that his pension and other entitlements as well as severance gratuity are paid in accordance with the extant laws," he said.
Apart from the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Attorney General, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Moyosore Onigbanjo, the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, and the National Judicial Council (NJC) are also joined as defendants in the suit.
The retired judges insisted that it is the duty of the Governor of Lagos to pay the pension, severance, and retirement entitlements of a retired judge, a duty which arises from the fact that the governor is the appointing authority.
Justice Candide-Johnson also submitted that by a letter dated January 13, 2021, the 3rd defendant, the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission wrote him a letter undertaking to pay the retirement benefits while requesting several documents which he promptly made available on January 17, 2021.
Thus the annual salary of four of the claimant’s domestic staff is N2,400,000.00 (Two Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira).