Former
Editor of Thisday Newspaper, Mr. Paul Ibe, has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja
to compel the publisher of the paper, Nduka Obiagbena to pay him N19.7m
judgment debt.
Ibe
made the claim in a motion filed before the appellate court, a copy of which
was made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
In
the motion, Paul Ibe alleged that Obiagbena and his Leaders and Company Ltd.,
were deliberately frustrating the payment of the money awarded in his favour by
the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja.
The
NICN had in a judgment delivered on Feb. 18, 2014 awarded the N19.7m being claims
of unpaid salaries and terminal benefits due to Ibe, against Obiagbena and his
company.
The
trial court had at the instance of the judgment creditor (Ibe), granted an
order nisi (not absolute) to annex the said sum of N19.7m in accounts of
Obiagbena and his companies with four banks and the banks referred to as
``Garnishee Respondents’’ were; Access Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc,
Guarantee Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.
The
court had ruled: ``That the said sum of N19.7m sitting in the judgment debtors
accounts domiciled with the Garnishees aforementioned, and the sum of N200,000
being the cost of the Garnishee proceedings be attached to this Court
forthwith.
``The
Court further directs the four Garnishees to appear in court on May 7, 2015 to
show cause why this Order Nisi should not be made absolute upon each of them
for payment of the judgment creditor’’.
Ibe
said that following the orders of the NICN, the respondents filed a Notice of
Appeal dated April 30, 2015, which effectively put a stay on further action on
the garnishee proceedings.
He,
however, alleged that upon transmitting the records of proceeding to the court
of appeal, the appellants (Obiagbena and his company) abandoned the case.
Ibe
deposed in an affidavit attached to the motion that: ``The appellants have
neglected to file their brief of argument several months after transmission of
the appeal.
``It
is a fact that appellants are required by law to file their brief of argument within
45 days after transmission of records, which they have failed to do.
``The
appellants neither sought nor obtained leave of this court not that of the
trial court before filing the appeal’’.
He
contended that the appeal ``is frivolous and a deliberate attempt to continue
to deny him the fruits of the judgment got at the trial court’’.
Ibe
urged the court to dismiss the appeal and order Obiagbena and his company to
pay him the said sum.
On
the facts of the case, Ibe said he was engaged by the respondents in May 1996
and rose by way of promotion to become the Editor of Thisday newspaper.
He
said in 1998, he was transferred to South Africa as the Bureau Chief of the
newspaper.
Ibe
said that while he was in South Africa for 19 months running the affairs of the
newspaper, his employers failed to provide residential and office accommodation
and perks of office.
``After
completion of my job schedule in South Africa, I returned to Nigeria in 2000,
feeling dissatisfied and gave them notice of my intention to resign.
``The
defendants rejected my resignation and gave an approval for a sabbatical leave.
``In
2002, I was reabsorbed as an Assistant Editor with the understanding that I
will be appointed Director.
``Within
12 years duration of my employment, my tax and pension deductions and terminal
benefits statutorily due to me were not paid’’.
Meanwhile
the court of appeal is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the motion.
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