The National Industrial Court in Abuja has directed United Bank for Africa Plc to pay a total of N1.07bn to former Kogi State Deputy Governor, Simon Achuba, to settle a judgment debt owed by the Kogi State Government.
Delivering the ruling on November 27, Justice R. B. Haastrup upheld an earlier garnishee order nisi, concluding that UBA failed to prove its assertion that the funds in the relevant Kogi State Government account were either financed by the World Bank or jointly owned by 19 northern states.
Achuba, represented by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), asked the court to make the garnishee order absolute, pointing to UBA’s own admission that the Kogi State ACRESAL IDA Designated Account — a dollar account held with the bank — contained enough money to satisfy the judgment.
UBA argued that the account held World Bank–sourced funds meant for environmental projects across the northern region and therefore could not be used to pay the debt.
Justice Haastrup rejected this claim, ruling that the bank failed to provide any credible documents backing its position.
The court held that where a garnishee acknowledges the existence of funds sufficient to settle a judgment debt but cannot prove the money is legally protected, “the law does not permit depriving a successful litigant of the fruits of his judgment.”
The judge ordered that N1,070,860,138, representing the outstanding judgment sum, be paid to Achuba, along with N2m awarded as costs by the Court of Appeal and N1m as costs of the garnishee proceedings.
The total amount is to be deposited directly into Achuba’s Access Bank account.
Justice Haastrup also released other previously joined garnishees, including Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, and Polaris Bank, from further obligations.
In his pronouncement, he stated: “An order absolute is made directing the 3rd garnishee (UBA Plc) to pay the sum of N1,070,860,138 only to the judgment creditor… The 3rd garnishee shall pay… N2,000,000.00 as costs awarded by the Court of Appeal… [and] N1,000,000.00 being cost of this garnishee proceedings.”
The ruling marks a major turning point in Achuba’s long-running legal battle with the Kogi State Government following his contentious removal from office in 2019.
The court also criticised the conduct of the Kogi State Government’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), describing his application as malafide and aimed at undermining clear orders from the Court of Appeal and constitutional provisions.
Justice Haastrup added that Daudu’s actions were “most unprofessional and do not portray the bar in good light,” and consequently imposed a personal cost of N1m against him in favour of Achuba.
