The National Industrial Court, sitting in Calabar Judicial Division, has ordered the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to pay retired officer Chief Celestine all outstanding pension arrears covering 18 years, following a legal claim over unpaid retirement benefits.
In a judgment delivered on Monday by Justice Sanusi Kado, the court held that the NCS must promptly settle all accrued pension entitlements owed to Chief Celestine, ensuring that the payment reflects the full 18 years of his pension rights.
The case arose after the retired officer stated that he was employed in 1969 and served the Nigeria Customs Service for 27 years until his appointment was terminated in 1996 following disciplinary proceedings over alleged misconduct.
Chief Celestine claimed that his constitutional rights, including the right to fair hearing and protection against discrimination, were violated. He argued that he had been unjustly denied his pension, withheld salaries, promotional entitlements, and subjected to degrading treatment.
According to Celestine, although he had faced suspension and demotion as disciplinary measures, the termination of his appointment should not have deprived him of his accrued pension and gratuity, having fulfilled the statutory requirements for pensionable service.
In its defence, the NCS argued that the termination arose from alleged misconduct and that, due to this disciplinary action, Celestine was not entitled to a pension.
The Service also contended that most of his claims were statute-barred, except those relating to pension, and urged the court to dismiss the action.
Celestine’s counsel, Chidi Moses, countered that pension is a vested right that accrues once statutory conditions are met and cannot be extinguished by termination unless explicitly provided by law.
He emphasized that Celestine had already faced disciplinary action and could not be subjected to “double punishment” through forfeiture of his pension.
Justice Kado, in delivering his judgment, clarified that the applicable law governing Chief Celestine’s pension was the old pension regime under the Pension Act, not the contributory pension scheme established under the Pension Reform Act 2014.
Under the Pension Act, an officer who has served at least 15 years is entitled to a pension; having served 27 years, Celestine clearly met the statutory threshold.
The court noted that disciplinary measures, including suspension and demotion, had already been applied, and the termination of Chief Celestine’s appointment could not negate his right to the pension earned over nearly three decades of service.
Justice Kado found that the Customs Service failed to cite any statutory provision that expressly extinguished his accrued pension rights due to termination.
Consequently, the court ordered the Nigeria Customs Service Board and the Nigeria Customs Service to compute and pay Chief Celestine’s pension from 20 June 1996 to July 2014, based on his last salary prior to termination.
The Court further held that while pension liability after July 2014 falls under the responsibility of the Pension Transitional Directorate, which was not a party to the suit, the NCS Board and the Service remain liable for the period preceding that transition.
