The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Bauchi Judicial Division, has nullified the termination of the appointment of Muhammed A. Muhammed, a lecturer at Sa’adu Zungur University, Bauchi, after finding that the university failed to follow the statutory disciplinary procedure and denied him fair hearing.
Presiding Judge, Justice Mustapha Tijjani, therefore ordered the university and its Governing Council to immediately reinstate Muhammed A. Muhammed with his full rights and entitlements and pay his salaries, allowances and other emoluments from the date of his termination in February 2026 until the judgment is executed.
The court held that the university authorities violated the University Law and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, by failing to comply with the statutory disciplinary procedures required before terminating Muhammed’s appointment.
According to the facts of the case, Muhammed A. Muhammed was appointed as an Assistant Lecturer and was later subjected to disciplinary proceedings following allegations of misconduct.
Challenging his termination, the lecturer argued that he was denied the opportunity to personally appear before the Governing Council or a properly constituted joint committee to defend himself, as required by the university’s enabling law and conditions of service.
In their defence, the university authorities maintained that Muhammed had been given several opportunities to respond to the allegations before the Investigation Committee and Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee.
The university also argued that Muhammed had failed to exhaust the internal appeal mechanism provided under its conditions of service before approaching the court and urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.
In his judgment, Justice Tijjani distinguished between compliance with the university’s internal disciplinary procedures and compliance with its enabling law.
The court held that although Muhammed had appeared before the Investigation Committee and Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee, none of those committees constituted the joint committee of the Governing Council and Senate contemplated by the university’s enabling law.
According to the court, the law required that, upon the appropriate request, Muhammed be given an opportunity to appear before and be heard by the prescribed joint committee before the Governing Council took a final decision on his removal.
Justice Tijjani therefore found that the university failed to comply with the statutory procedure for terminating Muhammed’s appointment and that the failure amounted to a denial of fair hearing.
The court further held that the disciplinary proceedings could not be treated as having lawfully displaced the statutory requirements contained in the university’s enabling law.
Consequently, the court partially upheld Muhammed’s case and declared his termination wrongful, unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.
Apart from ordering his reinstatement, Justice Tijjani further ordered the university authorities to pay Muhammed his salaries, allowances and other emoluments from the date of termination in February 2026 until the judgment is executed.
