EFCC gives N1.05bn to 659 teachers laid off in Adamawa

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has given N1.05 billion to 659 teachers who were laid off in 2014 by the Adamawa State Government.

On Thursday, the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC handed over a bank draft worth N1,054,919,532.61. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale shared this information in a statement with PREMIUM TIMES.

The teachers’ lawyer, Luka Haruna, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), accepted the funds on their behalf, according to the EFCC.

The EFCC started looking into this issue after receiving a petition from Abraham Song in 2024 about the teachers’ unpaid benefits.

The commission reported that its investigation showed there was a risk that the funds could be misused. It took steps to secure the money, which led to its recovery and handover.

At the ceremony, the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC, Austine Adache, stated that the commission is dedicated to accountability and justice. He emphasized the importance of returning recovered funds to their rightful owners.

Mr. Haruna expressed gratitude to the commission for its work. Mr. Song also said that this recovery will help reduce the financial struggles faced by the teachers.

The teachers were hired by the Adamawa State Government in 2012 and worked in secondary schools for 29 months. In December 2014, the government declared their appointments illegal.

They challenged their dismissal at the National Industrial Court, which ruled in their favour on 13 June 2018.

The judge, N.C.S. Ogbuanya, stated that the teachers had a valid employment relationship with the state government. He ruled that they were entitled to their unpaid salaries and other benefits.

The court ordered the government to pay about N660 million, which included N638.3 million in salary arrears and N22 million for one month’s salary in lieu of notice. The government was given two months to pay, plus 10 percent interest per annum if it failed to comply.

The government claimed that the teachers were illegally recruited and did not have the necessary qualifications. It also said that they were dropped after a screening exercise. The court rejected this defense, finding contradictions in the government’s claims.

The teachers later sought to enforce the judgment through garnishee proceedings involving United Bank for Africa, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Zenith Bank, and Ecobank.

However, on 15 May 2025, another judge, J.T. Agbadu-Fishim, of the National Industrial Court in Yola, dismissed a garnishee application filed by the teachers.

The judge found that the affidavit supporting the application was sworn by a litigation secretary from the law firm representing the teachers. He ruled that this did not meet the requirements of Section 83(1) of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, making the application invalid.

The court released the five banks from those proceedings but did not overturn the 2018 judgment. It noted that the debt had not been fully settled and that there were disagreements over the outstanding balance, including previous payments and accrued interest.