The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Benin City, has ordered the state government to pay cumulated pension and gratuity to James Oyakhirome, a retired judge of state High Court.

The Presiding Judge, Adunola Adewemimo, ordered the Edo State government and the state’s pension board to pay the retired Judge the sum of N30,301,584.60 as gratuity.

The Court also ordered Edo State Government to pay additional sum of N11,728,907.06 being outstanding balance of monthly pension from August 2019 till the date to the retired Judge within 30 days.

Delivering the judgment Adewemimo, held that having attain 15 years in service, a Judicial Officer will be entitled to full pension and retirement benefits as a judicial officer, while lesser years of service would be pro-rated in relation to 15 years.

The Court refused the averment that the payment of Oyakhirome’s benefits is a responsibility which must be shared with the University of Benin to which the retired Judge had earlier rendered service before his appointment as a High Court Judge.

The court emphasized that the Pensions Act 1990 that the pension and gratuity of the retired jurist be apportioned between the Federal and State Government, which the Edo State government relief upon, has been replaced by the Pension Reform Act of 2014, and the repealed law is obsolete and of no legal effect.

The claimant, retired Justice Oyakhirome, had submitted that he served as a judge of the High Court of Edo State for 12 years without blemish and retired in December 2018 upon attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 65 years.