The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Yola, Adamawa State, has ordered the Adamawa State Government and the State Attorney-General to immediately pay a retired civil servant, Mr Dogo, ₦4.3 million in outstanding gratuity.
The court also awarded ₦1 million as general damages and another ₦1 million as the cost of the action in favour of the retiree.
The judgment was delivered by Justice James Agbadu-Fishim, who held that the claimant had established his case through credible documentary evidence, while the defendants failed to provide a convincing defence for the non-payment of his retirement benefit.
According to the facts presented before the court, Dogo was absorbed into the Adamawa State Civil Service by a letter dated March 1, 1988. His retirement was subsequently approved by a letter dated June 2, 2023.
Following his retirement, the Adamawa State Pension Board issued an approval for the payment of his pension and gratuity in October 2023. A computation of his retirement benefits in November 2023 placed his gratuity entitlement at ₦4.3 million.
However, the gratuity remained unpaid despite the approval and computation of the retirement benefits.
Dogo told the court that he made demands for payment and served the defendants with a one-month pre-action notice in April 2025, but the outstanding gratuity was not settled.
In their defence, the Adamawa State Government and the Attorney-General maintained that payment of gratuities to retirees was subject to administrative processes, availability of funds and verification procedures.
They argued that the government was progressively working towards settling outstanding gratuities owed to retirees, including the claimant, and attributed the delay to administrative and financial constraints.
Counsel to the claimant, P.R. Ajumebor, argued that his client had established his entitlement through documents showing his employment, retirement, approval of his gratuity and the continued failure of the defendants to make payment despite repeated demands.
Delivering judgment, Justice Agbadu-Fishim held that the defendants failed to substantiate their claims concerning administrative procedures, insufficient funds and verification requirements as justification for withholding the gratuity.
The court consequently ordered payment of ₦4,316,015.82, representing the outstanding gratuity due to the claimant.
The court, however, declined to award the ₦3.1 million claimed as a separate head of special damages for loss of value of the gratuity due to inflation, holding that the claimant had not established a sufficient statutory or contractual basis for that claim.
Justice Agbadu-Fishim noted that Dogo had served the state government for 35 years, retired without receiving his gratuity, and was compelled to institute legal proceedings to recover the entitlement.
The court held that the circumstances justified an award of general damages and granted ₦1 million, in addition to ₦1 million as costs of the action. It also awarded 10 per cent post-judgement interest on the judgement sum until liquidation.
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