Former staff of the defunct New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) have written to President Muhammadu Buhari, asking for the payment of N8billion judgement debt.

Justice Evelyn Anyadike of a Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, in 2013 ordered the federal government to pay the sum of N8billion pension arrears owed the staff for about 10 years.

The letter addressed to the president, dated September 18, 2015 and signed by Mallam Idih Sule and Barrister Alber Iweka, chairman and secretary respectively of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, said, “Owing to prolonged non-payment of pension and gratuity for over 10 years, the pensioners instituted a civil action against the federal government and the New Nigerian Newspaper to recover the arreas of pensions and gratuities.

“Judgement in the suit was delivered on October 28, 2013, compelling the federal government and the New Nigerian Newspaper to pay all the accrued and outstanding arrears of pension and gratuity but up till now (about two years after the judgement), they have failed to comply with the court judgement and no appeal is pending”.

In the suit marked FHC/KD/CS/137/2011, the plaintiffs, Mallam Idih Sule, Alhaji Yakubu Adele, Saidu Ma’Aji and Adamu Danlami joined FG, the AGF and NNN as defendants.

The plaintiffs prayed the court to make the following declarations:

A declaration that the plaintiffs were entitled to payment of their monthly pensions including the accumulated outstanding pension arrears, and an order of mandamus compelling the defendants to pay to the plaintiff the current and accrued pension arreas together with the increment thereof within forty-five days from the date of judgement.

After parties in the suit made their submissions and witnesses called, the court ordered the government to pay the former staff of the newspaper their pension arrears.

The court had declared that the plaintiffs were entitled to the payment of their monthly pension including the accumulated/outstanding arrears of pension and gratuity.

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