Nigeria Content Online

Frustrated by the Federal High Court’s verdict against its
refusal to pay the severance gratuities of retired judges in the state, the Oyo
State government has decided to proceed to the Appeal Court to challenge the
judgment.

NEXT gathered that the government had filed a notice of appeal
with the state High Court last week, but this could not be taken to the
appellate court due to a failure to get the necessary documents prepared before
the week ran out.

The judge who ruled on the matter, Muktar Ladi Abimbola, was
assignment out of the state and unavailable to attend to the application for
stay of execution order brought by the government.

Sources said when pressure was mounted on the state Chief
Judge, Bolajoko Adeniji, on the need to get the papers ready as soon as
possible to beat the required time of filing the appeal, she requested that the
counsel to the retired judges, Lasun Sanusi, apply for a transfer of the case
to another court to allow the application move in time.

The application was prepared and filed last Thursday and it is
expected that all the necessary papers will be ready to get the appeal to the
appellate court’s registry this week.

The case

After several failed attempts to make the state government pay
their severance gratuities as provided by the law, the retired judges sued the
state government to court. The state government argued that the judges should
be paid by the federal government.

The applicants: Nurudeen Adekola, Olayiwola Adio, Ruth
Oyetunde, Afolabi Adeniran, Olagoke Ige, Karimu Jimoh, Lambe Arasi, Akin Sanda,
Atilade Ojo, Simon Akinola and Theophilus Adeniran (deceased) – comprise three
former Chief Judges, two acting Chief Judges and six other judges, who worked
with the state’s judiciary throughout their careers as judicial officers.

Apart from the sections of the law mandating their pays, the claimants
also fortified their application with letters from the National Judicial
Council, in which the body specifically directed that all retired state
judicial officers will be paid in states where they served till retirement.

They also attached evidence of compliance from some states of
the federation as well as certificate of pension issued them by the Alao-Akala
government, to certify that they indeed served meritoriously with the state and
qualify to draw pensions from the state’s purse.

All these were tendered to argue their case before the
presiding judge who ruled in their favour on Thursday, April 14.

Delivering his judgement, Mr. Abimbola granted all the prayers
of the retired judges and ordered the state government to pay their gratuities
forthwith and immediately, along with the interests they prayed for.

He also berated the government for trying to stand the law on
its head in attempt to deny the applicants their lawful entitlement.

Mr. Sanusi, who said he is fully prepared to engage state’s team in the
renewed battle, described the step as ‘frivolous and time wasting’.