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The National Industrial Court, Yenagoa Judicial Division, presided over by Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman, has dismissed the suit filed by one Tomvi against the National Identity Management Commission concerning the alleged unlawful stoppage of salaries and related entitlements.
Justice Hamman held that Mr. Tomvi failed to establish entitlement to the salaries, allowances, and damages claimed, having acted in breach of the applicable Public Service Rules by proceeding on an unapproved course of study.
From facts, the Claimant, Mr. Tomvi had submitted that he was employed in the Federal Public Service and later served under the National Identity Management Commission in various capacities over the years.
Mr. Tomvi contended that his employment remained valid and subsisting and that the National Identity Management Commission unlawfully stopped his salaries and allowances from August 2013 without issuing any letter of termination or dismissal.
Mr. Tomvi further asserted that he was entitled to over N26m as accumulated salaries and emoluments covering 125 months, alongside claims for interest, damages, and litigation costs.
In defence, the National Identity Management Commission maintained that Mr. Tomvi absented himself from duty without approval after his application for study leave with pay was expressly declined, and that disciplinary steps were taken in accordance with the Public Service Rules.
The National Identity Management Commission explained that Mr. Tomvi was queried for absenteeism, invited to appear before a disciplinary committee, and that his salary stoppage was a lawful consequence of abandoning his duty post without authorization.
Learned counsel to the National Identity Management Commission, C. C. Nwaede Esq, submitted that an employee who absconds from duty cannot lawfully claim salaries for periods not worked, urged the Court to dismiss the suit for want of proof.
In a carefully reasoned judgment, Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman held that although Mr. Tomvi’s employment was one with statutory flavour, such protection does not excuse non-compliance with the same statutory rules governing service.
Justice Hamman emphasized that Mr. Tomvi was afforded a fair hearing through queries and invitations to disciplinary proceedings, which he failed to honor, thereby undermining his complaint of procedural unfairness.
The Court stated that Mr. Tomvi did not specifically identify or prove the provisions of the Public Service Rules allegedly breached by the National Identity Management Commission, as required by law in claims of wrongful disciplinary action.
“The law does not permit a party to benefit from his own wrongdoing. An employee who disregards lawful directives and absents himself without approval cannot turn around to demand salaries and damages from the employer,” the Court held.
Consequently, the Court found no merit in the claims and dismissed the suit in its entirety, making no order as to costs.
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