Metro
Court freezes Plateau, Benue accounts over unpaid salaries
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the freezing of accounts belonging to Benue and Plateau states in Skye Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and First City Monument Bank Plc over the states’ alleged refusal to release funds for the payment of wages and allowances of court workers in their states.
Justice Ademola Adeniyi gave the order on Monday while ruling on two ex-parte applications filed by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) over alleged refusal to pay about N1.6billion to comply with the January 13, 2014, judgement delivered by the judge.
Justice Ademola, in the 2014 judgement, affirmed the financial autonomy status granted the judiciary by the constitution and abolished the piecemeal funding of the arm of government by the states’ governments.
The union stated, in their ex-parte motions, that the amount due to Benue State judiciary as at March 2015 is N957,630,349.57 and the amount due to the Plateau State judiciary for the same period is N673,019,948.19.
JUSUN said Benue and Plateau, had “bluntly refused to obey the judgement of the court.”
It said the judiciary of both states owed their workers, who are members of the union, “arrears of salary and other funds due to them up to March 2015.”
They stated, in the supporting affidavits, that all efforts made to both states’ governments “to comply with the judgement of this honourable court fell on deaf ears.”
The case has been adjourned to June 1, three days after the May 29 date for the handover to the incoming administrations in both states.
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