The court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to promptly release the judgment sum to the affected staff, warning that failure to comply would attract disciplinary action against the bank’s principal officers.
The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld a judgment against Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, over a debt of more than N2.5billion owed to 110 staff whose appointments were terminated in 1996.
In two unanimous judgments, the appellate court affirmed the November 30, 2015 decision of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), which voided the disengagement of the workers and ordered that they be paid their salaries and other entitlements.
The court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to promptly release the judgment sum to the affected staff, warning that failure to comply would attract disciplinary action against the bank’s principal officers.
The 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 against the 2015 NICN judgment, holding that it was 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 held, while awarding N5million costs against the appellants in favour of the disengaged staff.
In a separate judgment, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the CBN against a garnishee order absolute made by the NICN on January 27, 2022, directing the apex bank to pay the judgment sum from ABU’s funds in its custody.
Justice Abang criticised the role played by the CBN in the matter, saying: “The CBN ought to have released that money to the judgment creditors when the judgment was not set aside or stayed. 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. There is no reason for the CBN to have filed this appeal. Its conduct is oppressive.
“It is not the duty of the garnishee to play the role of an advocate for the judgment debtors by shielding them from the effect of the judgment.”
He also faulted the conduct of CBN’s counsel, Senator Ita Enang, stating: “Counsel ought to have advised the appellant on the futility of filing this appeal or withdraw his services if his client insisted on proceeding with the 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.”
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in CBN versus Interstella Communications Limited, Justice Abang held that the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation was not required before commencing garnishee proceedings since the AGF was a party to the original suit.
The court dismissed the appeal and ordered the CBN to release the judgment sum without delay, awarding an additional N5 million cost against the apex bank in favour of the disengaged staff.
Other members of the panel, Justices Adebukola Banjoko and Eberechi Wike, agreed with the lead judgments.