The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by a former security officer, Mr. Ochigbo Shaibu Sunday, challenging the termination of his employment by Peoples Plus Management Services Limited.
The court held that Mr. Sunday failed to establish the terms and conditions of his employment or demonstrate how the company breached any contractual provision, a lapse it described as fatal to his case.
Delivering judgment at the Abuja Judicial Division of the court, Hon. Justice Olufunke Yemi Anuwe ruled that Peoples Plus Management Services lawfully exercised its right as an employer to terminate Mr. Sunday’s employment on the ground that his services were no longer required. The court further held that the termination was not disciplinary in nature and that the claimant failed to justify the award of damages or any of the other reliefs sought.
Justice Anuwe stated that an employee who seeks to challenge the termination of his employment must place before the court the applicable conditions of service and clearly demonstrate how those conditions were breached. She held that Mr. Sunday failed to satisfy this requirement.
From the facts presented, Mr. Sunday told the court that he was employed by Peoples Plus Management Services Limited as a security officer in November 2007 and was later seconded to a bank. He contended that he was neither queried nor given an opportunity to defend himself against allegations that allegedly led to the termination of his appointment, arguing that the action was therefore unlawful.
The claimant also asked the court to order the payment of unpaid salaries from August 2015, terminal benefits, damages, and compensation for alleged defamation. He claimed that reports were made about him to his church and a subsequent employer, which he said damaged his reputation.
In its defence, Peoples Plus Management Services Limited maintained that Mr. Sunday’s employment was validly terminated. The company told the court that his terminal benefits were duly calculated and paid through a bank draft issued in December 2015, and it denied authoring or issuing any defamatory reference to any subsequent employer.
In her ruling, Justice Anuwe held that the termination letter issued to Mr. Sunday clearly stated that his services were no longer required and did not link the termination to any alleged misconduct. She added that the court could not treat the termination as disciplinary where no such basis was stated.
On the claim for unpaid salaries, the court held that a terminated employee is not entitled to salaries or allowances for periods after the termination of employment, having found no basis to set aside the termination.
Justice Anuwe also dismissed Mr. Sunday’s alternative claim for terminal benefits, holding that evidence before the court showed that Peoples Plus Management Services had discharged its obligation by issuing a bank draft for his entitlements. She ruled that the alleged seizure of the bank draft by a third party could not be attributed to the defendant.
