The National Industrial Court in Abuja has directed United Bank for Africa Plc to pay N1.07 billion to Simon Achuba, the former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, to satisfy a judgment debt owed by the state government.
Justice R. B. Haastrup delivered the judgment on November 27, confirming an earlier provisional order after finding that UBA failed to prove the funds in the Kogi State ACRESAL IDA Designated Account were either World Bank funds or shared among 19 northern states.
Achuba, represented by prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), had called for the court to make the earlier order final after UBA admitted holding enough funds in the account.
The bank argued the money was from the World Bank and designated for environmental projects in northern states, thus not available to settle the debt. However, the court rejected this claim due to a lack of credible evidence.
The judge ruled that if a garnishee acknowledges sufficient funds exist and cannot prove those funds are legally protected, the law requires that the judgment creditor must be paid.
The court ordered UBA to pay N1,070,860,138 to Achuba, plus N2 million as costs awarded by the Court of Appeal and N1 million for the garnishee proceedings. Payment is to be made directly into Achuba’s Access Bank account.
Other banks previously involved—Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, and Polaris Bank—were discharged from the case. This decision is a significant development in Achuba’s long-running legal battle following his disputed removal from office in 2019.
The court also condemned the behaviour of Kogi State government’s lawyer, Paul Daudu (SAN), describing his actions as malicious and intended to circumvent the Court of Appeal’s orders and constitutional provisions. Justice Haastrup called Daudu’s conduct unprofessional and imposed a personal fine of N1 million against him in favour of Achuba.
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