Nyame, 3 others to get N151m pension

Justice Sanusi Kado of the National Industrial Court has ordered the payment of the sum of N151.1 million being the unpaid pension arrears of ex-governor of Taraba, Rev. Jolly Nyame and three others from May, 2013 to Oct. 2015.

Other claimants in the suit were: Uba Ahmadu, Abubakar Armayau and Bilkisu Danboyi.

Uchenna Okeke, who is counsel to the claimants had sought for an order of court to enter summary judgement against the defendant, the Taraba State government, compelling the defendant to pay the balance of his clients’ pension arrears within four months.

The application was however opposed by the defence counsel, Mr. Emmanuel Anderifun, in a counter-affidavit.

Kado, in the ruling, granted the summary judgment.

He said the sole issue for determination was the number of times the defendant will make the payment in instalments.

He further stated that the defendant had always admitted owing the claimants the said amount.

The judge added that facts admitted needed not to be proven by evidence or further proof.

Kado said the bone of contention was the number of times the payment would be made.

He said the claimants demanded for their payment in four instalment payment while the defendant proposed 18 instalments.

The judge ruled thus: “the decision of the court is for 10 equal instalments payment commencing from July. 2019 on a monthly basis until the final liquidation of the total sum.

“Failure to abide by the decision of the court will attract 10 per cent interest rate for the defendant.

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“Summary judgment is hereby entered accordingly,” he concluded.

Recall that the claimants who were former employees of the defendant were upon retirement, paid the sum of N45 million out of their total pension arrears of N196 million.

Also one of the claimants, Jolly Nyame was on May 31, 2018 sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for his acts of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of the sum of N1.64bn belonging to Taraba state while he was governor by Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

The judgment marked the end of about 11 years’ trial which would be the first full-blown criminal proceedings to be conducted in a Nigerian court and ended in a guilty verdict sending a former governor to jail for a period as long as 14 years for corruption.