The National Industrial Court in Abuja has ordered United Bank for Africa to pay N1.07bn to former Kogi State Deputy Governor, Simon Achuba, to settle a long-standing judgment debt owed by the Kogi State Government.
Justice R. B. Haastrup delivered the ruling on November 27, making absolute an earlier garnishee order nisi after concluding that UBA failed to prove that the funds in the Kogi State ACRESAL IDA Designated Account were restricted or jointly owned by 19 northern states.
Achuba, represented by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, had urged the court to enforce the order based on UBA’s own admission that the funds were available in the dollar-denominated account.
UBA had insisted that the money originated from a World Bank facility and was intended solely for environmental projects, but the court rejected the argument, noting that the bank provided no credible documents to support its claim.
Justice Haastrup held that once a garnishee admits that funds exist and fails to show that they are legally insulated from attachment, the court is bound to allow the successful litigant access to the judgment sum.
The judge subsequently directed the payment of N1,070,860,138 to Achuba, in addition to N2m awarded by the Court of Appeal and N1m as the cost of the garnishee proceedings. The funds are to be paid directly into Achuba’s Access Bank account.
The ruling also discharged other banks earlier joined in the case, including Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, and Polaris Bank. It marks a major victory for Achuba in his long dispute with the Kogi State Government following his controversial removal from office in 2019.
Justice Haastrup further criticised the conduct of Kogi State’s counsel, Paul Daudu, describing his application as an attempt to undermine the orders of the Court of Appeal and the Constitution.
The judge found the action to be brought in bad faith and awarded N1m personally against Daudu in favour of Achuba, calling his conduct unprofessional and damaging to the integrity of the bar.
