The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reaffirmed its earlier judgment directing Kogi State Government to pay former Deputy Governor Simon Achuba the sum of N1.07 billion as outstanding salaries and allowances.
Gatekeepers News reports that delivering its ruling on Tuesday, a three-man panel led by Justice Okon Abang held that the Court of Appeal is the final authority on labour-related matters and that the state cannot take the case further to the Supreme Court.
Achuba, who was impeached in 2019, had approached National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) to demand unpaid salaries, travel allowances, and entitlements.
The NICN ruled in his favour on November 4, 2020. The state government appealed, but on April 29, 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment, confirming his right to payments contained in the 2017 and 2018 state budgets, excluding security votes.
When the government failed to comply, Achuba returned to court. On April 25, 2025, the appellate court quantified his entitlements at N1,070,860,138. Rather than pay, the government applied for a stay of execution and attempted to approach the Supreme Court.
In its latest ruling, the Court of Appeal dismissed the application as lacking merit and emphasized that Section 243(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) makes it the final court for appeals arising from the NICN in civil matters.
The court described the state government’s actions as an attempt to undermine the rule of law.
It also sanctioned Adebayo Adedeji, counsel to the Kogi government, for pursuing the appeal. He was ordered to pay N3 million to Achuba before the state can take any further legal steps.
