The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, secured a major legal victory after the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in a landmark, jurisprudentially significant and precedent-reinforcing judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, overturned the Federal High Court’s decision attaching a purported N100.1 million judgment debt against the apex bank in a dispute involving the Imo State Government.
In a meticulously reasoned lead judgment, Justice Abang held that the trial court acted on speculation rather than credible and verifiable evidence in making a garnishee order absolute against the CBN.
The court emphatically reaffirmed that the apex bank neither maintained an account for the Imo State Government nor owed the state any attachable debt capable of sustaining garnishee proceedings.
The appeal arose from the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on May 19, 2016, in garnishee proceedings instituted by Andrew Okoroji to enforce a N100,178,210 judgment earlier obtained against the Imo State Government.
The trial court had held that the state’s anticipated allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), domiciled with the CBN, constituted attachable funds.
