A retired judge, Justice Hezekiah Solanke, has dragged the Ogun State Government to court over alleged non-payment of his gratuity and other retirement benefits.

Solanke, who retired in February 2017 at the age of 62, sued Governor Dapo Abiodun and the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice at the National Industrial Court in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the court process obtained by our correspondent, Solanke said he was employed into the Ogun State Judiciary as a Senior Magistrate Grade 1 in February 1992, got promoted various times before he was appointed a high court judge in October 2004.

He stated, “The defendants did not pay the claimant his monthly pension from the 1st day of June, 2017, till the 31st day of January,2018, a period of eight  months, which is calculated thus: N1,312,133  multiply by eight  months, which will amount to N10,497,064.”

He urged the court to compel the state to pay him another N500,000 “being the responsibility allowance deducted from the claimant’s monthly pension from the 1st of February, 2018, till the time judgment is delivered.”

He further prayed the court for an order directing the defendants to pay him N150,395, being his accommodation allowance deducted from the claimant’s monthly pension from December 2018 till the time  judgment is delivered.

His other prayers include “an order of court directing the defendants to pay the sum of N5, 414,220, being furniture allowance for a period of four years.

 “An order of court directing the defendants to pay the sum of N47, 236,788, being the claimant’s gratuity due to him.

 “The sum of N15,000,000 as general damages for failure to pay his pension for a period of eight months from the 1st day of June 2017 to the 31st day of January, 2018, without any justification and his gratuity three  years after his retirement.”