Five more retired judges of the Lagos State Judicial have dragged the state before the National Industrial Court over the failure of the state government to pay their pensions, gratuities, and other entitlements.
The five retired judges: Justice Iyabo Kasali, Justice Olaide Olayinka, Justice Doris Okuwobi, Justice Titilola Ojikutu-Rhode, Justice Grace Onyeabo joined their brother judge, Justice Samuel Candide-Johnson, who had earlier filed a similar suit before the same court.
Apart from the state government, other respondents in the case are the state’s attorney-general and ommissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, and the National Judicial Council (NJC).
While Justice Onyeabo and Justice Kasali in the suit are seeking an order compelling the defendants to pay them the entitlements without further delay, Justice Okuwobi, Justice Olayinka, and Justice Ojikutu-Oshode are challenging the computation of their entitlements.
All the suits are filed before Justice Maureen Eshowe. They also seek a declaration that their pension and gratuity were not computed by extant law, to wit: Section 291 (3) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The claimants are also asking the court to declare that the arbitrary computation of the Claimant’s retirement benefits by the 3rd defendant without recourse to extant law is unlawful.
However, the Lagos State government is making frantic efforts to settle the disputes out of court.
A lawyer from the state’s Ministry of Justice, Saheed Quadri, told the judge of the state’s willingness to settle the cases out of court.
The lawyer had informed the court that the government had made payment of part of the retirement benefits to seven retired judges in the class of 2022, excluding payment of their pension.
The payment is based on an old template; pending completion of settlement details and agreements on the appropriate template to use for retired Judges’ Pension by section 291(3) of the 1999 constitution.
When the matter came up last week Friday, all parties reported that efforts are being made to settle the suits out of court. Justice Esowe thereafter adjourned further proceedings till June 21, 2022, for a report of settlement.
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