The National Industrial Court yesterday ordered the Taraba State Government to immediately pay former Governor Jolly Nyame and three others, arrears of their pensions.

The other judgment creditors in the suit are Uba Ahmadu, Abubakar Armayau and Bilkisu Danboyi.

The court, in addition, awarded the sum of N500, 000 to the state government.

While delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae held that the judgment debtors did not contest owing to the judgment creditors, having entered and signed an undertaking to pay their pension arrears.

The judge said the undertaking was signed in order to stop the enforcement of the judgment when the movable properties of the judgment debtors were taken by court officials.

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She further held that the judgment debtors submitted the same argument and authorities as cited by the garnishee debtor.

The judge, therefore, stated that there was no merit in their submissions.

Obaseki-Osaghae had earlier in the judgment, addressed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) preliminary objection.

According to the court, the objection raised by the apex bank that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit does not have merit.

CBN, in its objection, had argued that as an agency of the Federal Government, only a High Court could carry out a garnishee proceeding against it, as provided by Section 251, 1(d) of the 1999 Constitution, and Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, which rules 2 and 3 of the Judgment Enforcement Rule, is attached to.

A garnishee proceeding is a judicial process of execution, or enforcement of the monetary judgment, by the seizure or attachment of debts due or accruing to the judgment debtor, which forms part of his property available in execution.

The court, in response, held that the court was not enforcing a Federal High Court judgment, but rather a judgment that was delivered by the same court.

The court equally held that it had the power to enforce the monetary judgment through a garnishee proceeding.

The judge also stated that the NICN had the same ranking as any High Court, and its judgment could be enforced in a garnishee proceeding.