The National Industrial Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, has ordered International Tobacco Company to pay its former employee, Mohammed Lawal Ibrahim, a total of ₦5,968,773.53 in withheld entitlements and out-of-station allowances, following the company’s failure to promptly settle his terminal benefits after he returned all company property.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Bashir Alkali, directed the company to pay ₦4,514,400 as out-of-station allowance for 627 workdays, ₦454,373.53 as terminal benefits, and ₦1,000,000 as general damages for the wilful withholding of the claimant’s entitlements. Justice Alkali held that the delay constituted a breach of Ibrahim’s service agreement, signed on September 1, 2016.
Court records showed that Ibrahim was posted to Kaduna in November 2019 by the company’s Zonal Manager while awaiting confirmation of a permanent transfer. Despite repeated verbal and written requests for clarification and a formal transfer letter, the company issued only a backdated letter, which it claimed merely formalised the posting.
In its defence, International Tobacco Company denied acting in bad faith, arguing that the backdated letter reflected a permanent transfer to Zaria, Kaduna State, thereby rendering Mr. Ibrahim ineligible for out-of-station allowance. The company urged the court to dismiss the suit.
However, Ibrahim’s counsel, M. B. Olorunmaiye, Esq., contended that the backdated letter could not invalidate his client’s entitlement. He argued that the company’s persistent silence in response to transfer requests confirmed the temporary nature of the assignment and that withholding terminal benefits under an undisclosed internal policy amounted to bad faith.
After reviewing submissions from both parties, Justice Alkali ruled in favour of Ibrahim, affirming that he was entitled to out-of-station allowance from November 5, 2019, to November 5, 2021. The court, however, rejected additional claims for a resettlement grant of ₦150,000 and transportation costs of ₦85,000, citing insufficient evidence and lack of contractual backing.
The court ordered International Tobacco Company to comply with the judgment within 30 days. Both parties retain the right to appeal.
