The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over N1.05 billion to 659 teachers disengaged in 2014 by the Adamawa State Government.
The fee’s Gombe Zonal Directorate handed over a financial institution draft value N1,054,919,532.61 on Thursday. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale made this recognized in a press release shared with PREMIUM TIMES.
The teachers’ lawyer, Luka Haruna, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), acquired it on their behalf, in accordance to the EFCC.
The EFCC mentioned it started investigating the matter after receiving a petition from Abraham Song in 2024 over the teachers’ unpaid entitlements.
According to the fee, its investigation revealed a danger that the funds could possibly be misapplied. It acknowledged that it took steps to protect the cash, main to its restoration and handover.
Speaking on the ceremony, the fee’s Acting Zonal Director, Austine Adache, famous that the EFCC was dedicated to accountability, justice and returning recovered funds to their rightful homeowners.
Mr Haruna thanked the fee for its efforts, whereas Mr Song mentioned the restoration would assist ease the monetary hardship confronted by the teachers.
Background
The teachers have been employed by the Adamawa State Government in 2012 and labored in secondary faculties throughout the state for 29 months earlier than the federal government declared their appointments unlawful in December 2014.
They challenged their disengagement on the National Industrial Court, which dominated of their favour on 13 June 2018.
The choose N.C.S. Ogbuanya held that the teachers had a legitimate employment relationship with the state authorities and have been entitled to their excellent salaries and different advantages.
The court docket ordered the federal government to pay about N660 million, together with N638.3 million in wage arrears and N22 million as one month’s wage in lieu of discover. It gave the federal government two months to pay, with curiosity of 10 per cent every year accruing on the excellent sum if it failed to comply.
The authorities had argued that the teachers have been illegally recruited and lacked the required {qualifications}.
It additionally defined that they’d been dropped after a screening train. The court docket rejected the defence, discovering contradictions within the authorities’s arguments.
The teachers later sought to implement the judgement by garnishee proceedings involving United Bank for Africa, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Zenith Bank and Ecobank.
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However, in a ruling delivered on 15 May 2025, one other choose J.T. Agbadu-Fishim of the National Industrial Court in Yola struck out a garnishee utility filed by the teachers.
The choose discovered that the affidavit supporting the appliance had been sworn by a litigation secretary within the regulation agency representing the teachers. He dominated that this didn’t adjust to Section 83(1) of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, rendering the appliance incompetent.
The court docket discharged the 5 banks from these proceedings however didn’t put aside the 2018 judgement.
It famous that the debt had not been totally paid and that the events disagreed over the excellent steadiness, together with earlier funds and accrued curiosity.
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