The Supreme Court has overturned a garnishee order issued against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at recovering a ₦50 million judgment debt from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and others.
In its ruling on Tuesday, a five-member panel of the apex court set aside the proceedings in the case filed by Inalegwu Frankline Ochife, citing procedural irregularities.
The court emphasized that the CBN cannot be held liable for a judgment debt not directly involving the institution, reinforcing the need for due process in garnishee proceedings.
Delivering the lead judgment in appeal SC/CV/268/2021, Justice Habeeb Abiru held that the Court of Appeal erred in its assessment of the case.
The case originated from a Federal High Court judgment on October 10, 2018, awarding Ochife N50 million in damages against the IGP, the Commissioner of Police (FCT), and the Officer in Charge of the Intelligence Response Team, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
To enforce the judgment, Ochife initiated a garnishee proceeding to attach funds from the judgment debtors’ accounts held under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in the CBN.
On December 10, 2018, the Federal High Court issued a garnishee order nisi, directing the CBN to deduct N50 million from the alleged accounts.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision has now nullified the garnishee order, effectively halting the enforcement process.
The CBN, however, filed an affidavit to show cause, asserting that it did not hold any accounts in the names of the judgment debtors and was therefore unable to comply with the order.
Despite the CBN’s claim, the Federal High Court proceeded to make the garnishee order absolute on January 21, 2019, prompting the CBN to appeal the decision.
The Court of Appeal, in its decision on December 4, 2020, dismissed the CBN’s appeal and held that since the judgment debtors were government agencies, their funds must be held under the TSA policy.
Relying on Section 124 of the Evidence Act, the appellate court took judicial notice of the TSA framework and upheld the garnishee proceedings.
The CBN subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the proceedings at the lower were invalid due to Ochife’s failure to obtain the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), as required by Section 84 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act (SCPA).
In its Tuesday’s judgment, the Supreme Court held in favour of the CBN and noted that the IGP, the Commissioner of Police, the FCT, and the Officer in Charge of SARS are not Ministries, Departments, or Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government and, therefore, do not fall under the TSA framework.
Justice Abiru held that the decision of the lower court was perverse, adding that it relied on irrelevant considerations and failed to assess the evidence properly.
He further held that Ochife failed to provide specific details of the accounts allegedly maintained by the judgment debtors at the CBN