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.
