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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the N2.5 billion judgment given on November 30, 2015 by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) against the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria over its unlawful disengagement of 110 staff in 1996.

The appellate court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to promptly release the judgment sum to the staff, whose unlawful disengagement was voided in the November 30, 2015 judgment of the NICN, failing which its (the bank’s) principal officers shall be subjected to the court’s disciplinary powers.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal made the pronouncements in two unanimous judgments delivered on Friday by Justice Okon Abang, who wrote the lead judgments in both appeals.

The first judgment was on the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/476/2023 filed against the November 30, 2015 judgment by the ABU, the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

The second judgment was on the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1064/2022 filed by the CBN against the garnishee order absolute made by the NICN on January 27, 2022 ordering the apex bank to pay the N2.5b judgment sum to the disengaged staff, led by Joseph Ekundayo, from ABU’s funds in the bank’s custody.

In his lead judgment in the appeal by the ABU, the FME and the AGF, Justice Abang agreed with the arguments by the lawyer to the disengaged staff, Adegbiyega Kolade and resolved the three issues, identified for determination, against the appellants.

Justice Abang held that the appeal filed by the appellants in 2023 against a judgment delivered in 2015 was an afterthought and that as against their contention, the trial court did not deny them the right to fair hearing.

He said: “Having resolved the three issues formulated by the appellants against them, this appeal is devoid of merit. It is accordingly dismissed.”

Justice Abang proceeded to award N5million cost against the appellants and in favour of the 110 disengaged staff.

The NICN had, in the November 30, 2015 judgment, voided the disengagement of the 110 staff by the ABU, ordered it to reinstate them and pay them all their salary and other entitlements calculated to be over N2.5b.

In its second judgment on Friday, the Court of Appeal frowned at role the CBN played in the bid by the original judgment debtors – the ABU, the FME and the AGF – to frustrate efforts by the disengaged staff to execute the judgment.

Justice Abang resolved the two issues, identified for the determination of the appeal, against the CBN.

He faulted the CBN’s argument that the NICN lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the garnishee proceeding and make the garnishee order absolute.

Justice Abang held that the NICN has the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the garnishee proceeding because it was a consequencial or incidental proceeding to give effect to the November 30, 2015 judgment, given in the substantive suit that was over an employment dispute.

He noted that the judgment creditors (the disengaged staff) had no single claim against the CBN in the garnishee proceeding to have warrant its argument that the Federal High Court was the proper venue for the hearing of the garnishee proceeding.

Justice Abang wondered why the CBN chose to waste public funds in engaging a lawyer to file the appeal when it has the funds to pay the judgment sum after the trial court made the garnishee order nisi absolute.

He said: “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 said.

Justice Abang also criticised CBN’s lawyer, Senator Ita Enang for accepting the brief when he ought to have advised his client to comply with the order for it to release the judgment sum to the judgment creditors.

He added: “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.

Justice Abang said it was wrong for the CBN to support efforts by the original judgment debtors – ABU, the FME and the AGF – to prevent the judgment creditors from reaping the fruit of their labour and subject them to inhuman treatment.

He also faulted CBN’s argument that being a public officer, the judgment creditors ought to have first sought and obtained the consent of the AGF before commencing the garnishee proceeding against it.

Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of the CBN versus Interstella Communications Limited, Justice Abang held that if the AGF is a party to the original suit, the prior consent of the AGF is not required before a garnishee proceeding could be commenced to enforce the judgment in that suit.

He dismissed the appeal and ordered the CBN to release the judgment sum to the judgment creditors without delay.

Justice Abang added that the failure by the CBN to release the money without delay shall attract disciplinary action against principal officers of the apex bank.

He proceeded to award a cost of N5m against the CBN and in favour of the disengaged staff of the ABU.

Other members of the court’s panel – Justices Adebukola Banjoko and Eberechi Wike – agreed with the lead judgments in both appeals.