Court orders Central Bank of Nigeria to Pay 110 ABU Staff Over N2bn, 26 Years After they were Sacked

Court orders Central Bank of Nigeria to Pay 110 ABU Staff Over N2bn, 26 Years After they were Sacked

  • The Central Bank of Nigeria has been ordered to pay sacked staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria over N2 billion
  • The staff were dismissed since 1996 and have been fighting for their entitlements in the last 10 years
  • The University lost the case but because the accounts of the school is with CBN, the court has ordered for the funds to be released

The Central Bank of Nigeria has been ordered to pay into the account 110 staff of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, that were sacked in 1996 all their entitlements in the sum of N2.5 billion.

Justice Rakiya Haastrup of the Abuja division of the National Industrial Court gave the ordered on Thursday.

In her judgment she pronounced bsolute an order nisi earlier made upon CBN as per Nairametrics reports.

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Court orders Central Bank of Nigeria to pay 110 ABU staff over N2bn after 26 years after they were sacked
Entrance gate of Ahmadu Bello University Credit: ABU
Source: Twitter

What the pronouncement means is that funds standing to the credit of the Institution domiciled with the garnishee (CBN) should be used to pay the judgement debt.

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10 years of legal battle

In 1996, after the sack of 110 staff of ABU, they instituted a suit in 2012 seeking their reinstatement and challenging the unlawful termination of their employment.

They, therefore, sought “An Order directing the defendants to reinstate the plaintiffs forthwith and pay them all their outstanding salaries and allowances since their appointments were illegally determined.”

ABU in its preliminary objection argued that the case was statute-barred. They asked the court to dismiss the case.

On November 30, 2015, the court ruled in favour of the 110 staff and ordered ABU to reinstate them and also pay them their entitlement.

On November 7, 2016, the court ruled that the institution should pay the sacked staff a computed sum of N2.5 billion and a 10 percent per annum interest on the judgement sum.

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The latest judgement will be the third in the long-running case.

Unlawful disconnection: AEDC staff bags six months in prison

Meanwhile, James Olayemi, a staff of AEDC had been sentenced to six months in prison for unlawfully disconnecting a customer’s residence in Lokoja.

A magistrate court in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi state, however, gave Olayemi an option of an N50,000 fine.

Legit.ng gathered that Magistrate Tanko Muhammed also ordered immediate reconnection of electricity supply to the compound of Dennis Osanwuta.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.