Description

The 1st Respondent obtained an arbitral award against the Federal Government of Nigeria and subsequently commenced garnishee proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja, to enforce the award. The Court made a garnishee order absolute against funds belonging to the Federal Government in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, held by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for the satisfaction of the judgment debt.

Pursuant to the garnishee order, the CBN transferred ₦3,040,094,393.57 to the Appellant for the benefit of the 1st Respondent. The Appellant sought confirmation of the transfer from the CBN, which subsequently confirmed that the payment was valid and had been made to the 1st Respondent’s account domiciled with the Appellant. Meanwhile, the Respondents approached the High Court of Nasarawa State and obtained an order directing the Appellant to credit the 1st Respondent’s account with the judgment sum within 48 hours. Following the CBN’s confirmation, the Appellant credited the 1st Respondent’s account with the judgment sum. By agreement of the parties, the funds were placed in an interest-yielding call account, which earned interest of ₦6,802,834.18 during the initial 13-day period. The interest was subsequently paid to the 1st Respondent.