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Appeal Court Orders Kogi To Pay Ex-Deputy Governor N1bn Salary Arrears
Kogi State Government has finally lost its legal battle seeking to stop payment of one billion naira in salaries and entitlements to its unlawfully impeached former Deputy Governor, Elder Simon Achuba.
The request of the government against the payment of the sum was dismissed by a panel of three-man Justices of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, comprising Hamma Barka, Okon Abang, and Oyejoju Oyewumi.
In the lead of the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, the Court of Appeal held that Kogi State was not entitled in law to take the case further to the Supreme Court for further adjudication, being a civil matter from the National Industrial Court.
Justice Abang held that the Court of Appeal was the final bus stop where such cases must terminate and decisions implemented by parties involved.
He described as frivolous, baseless, irritating, and unwarranted the request of the Kogi State Government to move the case to the Apex Court when the law was clear and unambiguous on limitations placed before the state.
Justice Abang took a swipe at a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Adebayo Adedeji, for bringing such baseless request before the Court of Appeal, adding that a lawyer of his caliber and status ought to know better and advise his client appropriately.
He imposed a fine of N3m on the senior lawyer to be paid to the former Deputy Governor.
Justice Abang said, “I expected the learned senior counsel to the applicants, notwithstanding the juicy nature of the brief, to have taken advantage of the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 and advised them accordingly. Compliance with the Constitution should not be seen as cowardice but as maturity and restraint.”
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and the state’s Attorney-General had, through the senior lawyer, asked the Court of Appeal to stop execution of its earlier judgment granted in favour of Achuba for him to be paid over one billion naira as deserved salaries and other entitlements.
The request was predicated on the need for the state government to proceed further with the case to the Supreme Court before any payment should be made.
However, Justice Abang saw no merit in the request, adding, “The decision of this court is final. When the law says the decision of this court is final, there is nothing the applicants can do. It is as clear as daylight.”
The former Deputy Governor, who was impeached in 2019, had instituted a case at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), where he demanded an order of the court to compel the Kogi State Government to pay him his deserved salaries, travel allowances, and entitlements.
His request was granted by the Industrial Court on November 4, 2020, having found merit in it.
Apparently not satisfied with the Industrial Court decision, the state government took the matter to the Court of Appeal, but on April 29, 2024, the appellate court upheld the judgment of the lower court by affirming Achuba’s right to salaries and allowances in 2017 and 2018, at the exclusion of security votes.
However, instead of paying the judgment debt, the Kogi State Government, in a dramatic turn, moved to the Court of Appeal asking it to stop the enforcement of the judgment against it and also sought permission to be allowed to take the case further to the Supreme Court.
Justice Abang, while dismissing the request for being baseless and unmeritorious, warned against “executive lawlessness,” adding that under Section 243(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Court of Appeal is the final court for appeals from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in civil matters, as in the case of the former Deputy Governor.
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How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case
In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.
The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.
It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.
The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.
Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.
In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.
Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.
One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.
During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.
They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.
The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
News
₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler
Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.
The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.
According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.
The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.
Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.
“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.
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Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors
Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.
Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.
“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.
The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.
“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.
Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”
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