Back

The court has exclusive jurisdiction in civil causes and matters relating to or connected with any labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations and matters arising from workplace, the conditions of service, including health, safety, welfare of labour, employee, worker and matter incidental thereto or connected therewith.

LIVE Proceeding VIRTUAL COURT

News


Judgment Sum: Industrial Court Approves Instalmental Payment, Orders ASUSS Kebbi To Pay NUT Kebbi State N800,000 For 15 Months


1200 Friday 18th January 2019

 

Sokoto – His Lordship, Hon. Justice K. D. Damulak of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Sokoto,  on Thursday 17th  January 2019 in a ruling delivered, ordered ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL (ASUSS) KEBBI STATE CHAPTER –(judgment debtor) to liquidate the outstanding judgment sum of N11, 807,300.00 in 15 monthly instalments beginning from the month of December,2018 and Failure to pay any monthly instalment shall render the outstanding judgment sum liable to execution upon confirmation of payment of salaries by the Kebbi State Government to teachers.

 

The ruling was based upon a motion on notice filed by NIGERIA UNION OF TEACHERS (KEBBI STATE WING) judgment debtor /applicants on 6/11/2018 seeking for an order of instalmental payment of the judgment debt in the judgment of this Court delivered on 12/10/2018 in suit No. NICN/KN/17/2015.

 

By a complaint filed on 2015, the claimants, ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL (ASUSS) KEBBI STATE CHAPTER and 7 others now judgment creditors/ respondents claimed for a refund of check off dues remitted to the applicants on the basis of a judgment of the Kebbi State High Court which judgment was later set aside by an order of the Court of appeal, Sokoto Division.

 

On the 12/10/2018 this Court delivered judgment in favour of the claimants and ordered a refund of the sum of N12, 807,300.00 to the claimants within 30 days failure upon which the judgment sum shall attract 10% interest per annum.

 

The judgment debtors /applicants paid into the Registry of this Court the sum of N 1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira) only in partial fulfillment of the judgment debt and filed this motion for instalmental payment. the applicants depose that the said money collected by the applicants has already been spent for the welfare of the members of ACADEMIC STAFF  UNION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL (ASUSS) KEBBI STATE CHAPTER such as assistance to families of the deceased members, payment of hospital bills, sponsoring its exco members to attend meetings organized by the National body Association e.t.c. That part of the money has also been spent in litigation.

 

The judgment creditor/respondents contended that payment of N1, 500,000.00 per month will rather be reasonable that the judgment/debtors receive dues/subscriptions from the salaries of members of the Judgment/creditors amounting to over N1.7 million every month. That judgment/ debtors have a landed property and a Toyota Sienna. That the proposal for payment by installments made by the judgment/debtors is unconscionable and unacceptable to the judgment/Creditor.

 

Learned respondents counsel concluded that any arrangement for the payment of any amount less than N1.5 million on a monthly basis is unreasonable and unacceptable to the judgment creditors. 

 

After careful analysis of all the processes filed, and the submissions of the learned Counsel from both sides. The Court presided by Hon. Justice K. D. Damulak expressed thus;

 

“It is usual and reasonable to grant an order of instalmental payment in favour of a judgment debtor in which case, the judgment is to be liquidated, not within the time stipulated by the initial judgment order, but within the time stipulated by the post-judgment order.

 

“This Court is therefore of the humble view that it will be more reasonable to liquidate the outstanding judgment sum in 15 monthly instalments of N800,000.00 (eight hundred thousand Naira) only and I so order.

 

“It is hereby ordered that the judgment debtor liquidate the outstanding judgment sum of N11, 807,300.00 in 15 monthly instalments beginning from the month of December,2018 and Failure to pay any monthly instalment shall render the outstanding judgment sum liable to execution upon confirmation of payment of salaries by the Kebbi State Government to teachers." His Lordship Rules