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Yola---His Lordship, Hon. JusticeNCS Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Yola on Wednesday 13th June 2018 in a landmark Judgment has declared the sack of 659 Teachets wrongful and ordered Adamawa State Govt to pay the 659 Teachers 29-month arrears of salaries owed to them before the purported termination of their employment via the announcement made by the Director of Press in the Governor’s office in December 2014. The payment is to be made within Two Months of the judgment with one month salary in lieu of notice , totalling N660M.
The Claimants commenced this suit on 16th March 2015, sought against the defendants among others; A declaration that the appointment of the claimants as teachers by the 3rdDefendants was valid, lawful and not illegal having benefited from the services of the claimants for the period of 29 months and A declaration that the claimants are entitled to the payment of their salaries/wages, allowances and other entitlements for the period of the 29 months as at December, 2014, the claimants have worked as teachers for the Defendants.
The case of the 659 Claimants is that they were members of Batch D1 of the teachers recruited sometime in September 2010 by the Adamawa State Government (1st Defendant) through the State Ministry of Education (2nd Defendant) after being screened, selected and employed as Assistant Education Officers GL 07/1 by the Post Primary Schools Management Board (3rdDefendant), and were posted and they resumed duties at various Secondary Schools sometime in August 2012.
That surprisingly, after 29 months of service and without any formal letter of termination of their employment, in December 2014, the Director of Press in the Governor’s Office declared their employment illegal, yet their outstanding salaries for 29 months, accumulated to over N600Million naira, remains unpaid despite their Solicitors’ official letter of demand for payment and their mass protest over their sack by mere announcement by the Director of Press in the Governor’s office.
From the pleadings and the testimony of Defendant Witness, the crux of the Defendants’ case is that the Claimants were illegally employed as it was later discovered that a retired Secretary to the Board of the 3rd Defendant engaged in employment scam culminating in the illegal employment of the Claimants using his office’s official seal and letterheads to sell employment to the Claimants.
The Defendants also contended that the Claimants were dropped from the employment after screening exercise as they did not possess the requisite qualifications to teach. That the only payment made to the Claimants was half salary which was verification payment for the screening exercise.
It is the contention of learned Claimants’ counsel, A.B Babakano, Esq., that although the Defendants have right to terminate the contract if not satisfied with the performance of the Claimants within the two-year probation period yet the defendants failed to prove that the Claimants were illegally employed and without communicating to the Claimants that their appointments were not found satisfactory during the probationary period.
Concluding learned Defendants' lead Senior State Counsel, J.U Konlengayinga,Esq., further submitted that the Claimants ought to have constructive knowledge of the end of the employment by their employer at the point of screening where legible ones were retained and the Claimants not retained, and thus could not have worked for 29 months as they claimed.
Counsel finally urged the court to dismiss the Claimants’ case in its entirety for lacking merit.
After reviewing the argument, processes filed and the submissions of learned Counsel for both parties, the Court Presided by Hon. Justice NCS Ogbuanya expressed thus;
“From the foregoing analysis, I entertain no hesitation in coming to the finding of fact that there was a valid subsisting employment relationship between the Claimants and the Defendants via the 3rdDefendant. I so hold.
“The Defendants not being too sure of anchoring and sustaining their defence on the alleged illegal recruitment of the Claimant again quibbled and asserted that the Claimants were dropped after they were found unfit at a screening exercise. I find and hold that this line of defence by the Defendants is contradictory and cannot stand, as party ought to be consistent in a case and should not be presenting contradictory testimonies on one subject matter.
“From the fore going it is clear that the Claimants having worked as teachers for the Defendants for the period of 29 months as at December 2014 are entitled to payment of their salaries/wages, allowances and other entitlements for that said period. I so declare.
“In other words, the accrued sums due and payable to the Claimants by the Defendants should be calculated as follows: Simply put: N33, 400x659x29 = N638,307,400 ( six hundred and thirty eight million, three hundred and seven thousand four hundred naira).
“Accordingly, the Claimants shall be additionally paid N33, 400.00 each x 659 of them, totaling N22,010,600( twenty two million ten thousand six hundred naira),being equivalent sum of payment for one month salary in lieu of notice for wrongful termination of the Claimants’ employment with the Defendants.
“Monetary payments in this Judgment shall be paid by the Defendants to the Claimants within two (2) months of this Judgment. Otherwise, 10% interest per annum shall accrue on the sums due.
