By INNOCENT ANABA

LAGOS- The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has been ordered by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, to pay about N1.112 billion judgment debt owed by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to a firm, Hydro Air (PTY) Limited.

Trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, in his ruling, weekend, described as untenable, the argument by both agencies that the approval of the President; Attorney-General of the Federation;  Accountant-General of the Federation and National Assembly (by way of appropriation) were needed before monetary judgment entered against them could be executed.

Hydro Air had urged the court to make absolute, an earlier garnishee order nisi made by the court upon the refusal of NAMA and NCAA to execute a $6 million judgment entered against them on July 23, 2010.

The judgment sum, the court noted should be paid to the judgment-creditor, Hydro Air, from the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, funds account held in CBN and managed by NCAA, an agency of the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
The court voided Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, requiring the approval of the Attorney-General or Accountant-General before monetary judgments against government agencies could be executed.

The court declared the provision null and void and held that it contravened the provisions of Sections 36 (6) and 284 of the Constitution. The court also  held that Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, a product of the British Common Law system, had been rendered useless by the Nigerian constitution.

The court held that the approval of the Accountant-General, the Attorney- General and that of the National Assembly (by way of appropriation) was not required before monetary judgments could be executed against government agencies.
The reverse, the judge said, would amount to these government appointees and institutions sitting on an appeal over a judgment of a competent court.

“The only court that entitled to review the judgment of this court (the Federal High Court) is the Court of Appeal and then, the Supreme Court.,” the judge held.