The National Industrial Court sitting in Jos has ordered the Plateau State Government to reinstate 31 workers whose appointments had been suspended, declaring the refusal to implement the governor’s recall directive unlawful, wrongful, and illegal.
Delivering judgment at the Jos Judicial Division, Presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Galadima, held that the Plateau State Government, the Plateau State Civil Service Commission, and the Attorney General of Plateau State acted unlawfully by preventing the affected employees from returning to work despite a directive issued by the governor approving their recall. The court awarded ₦5 million in general damages and ₦1 million as costs.
Justice Galadima specifically directed the government and its agencies to allow Oyasco Henry Ankes, Yilmen Clement Tyilong, Jordan M. Chomo, and 28 other workers to resume duty in accordance with the governor’s directive and the terms contained in their appointment letters. The court also restrained the defendants from taking any further action capable of preventing the workers from returning to their posts.
According to court records, the claimants stated that they were employed by the Plateau State Government through the Plateau State Civil Service Commission in 2022. Their appointments were suspended in 2023 following the assumption of office by a new administration, alongside those of several other employees recruited under the previous government.
The workers told the court that, after a government review committee completed its assignment, the Governor of Plateau State approved the recall of employees whose appointments had been placed on hold and directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the decision. However, despite reporting for duty, they alleged that they were denied access to their places of assignment.
In their defence, the Plateau State Government, the Civil Service Commission, and the Attorney General argued that the appointments were temporary and subject to probation. They further contended that the recruitment exercise did not comply with due process requirements, including public advertisement, interviews, and equitable representation across the state.
The defendants also maintained that the workers’ appointments had already been terminated based on the findings contained in the Government White Paper on the Review of Employment in Plateau State. They argued that the claimants were no longer employees of the state when the suit was instituted and urged the court to dismiss the case.
Counsel to the workers, however, argued that the governor’s directive expressly approved the immediate resumption of duty by employees whose appointments had been placed on hold. The lawyer submitted that the defendants had no legal authority to exclude his clients from benefiting from the directive.
The claimants’ counsel further argued that alleged irregularities in the recruitment process could not be used to deny the workers the benefit of the governor’s recall directive, particularly as there was no valid evidence that their appointments had been terminated.
After reviewing the arguments, affidavit evidence, and documents tendered by both parties, Justice Galadima affirmed that the court had jurisdiction to hear the matter. He also held that the claimants were entitled to institute the action jointly because they shared a common grievance arising from the government’s refusal to implement the governor’s directive
The judge ruled that no document had been presented before the court showing that the appointments of the claimants had been formally terminated. He further held that the governor’s recall directive remained valid and that the White Paper merely contained recommendations and did not extinguish the workers’ employment.
Justice Galadima held that the defendants’ reliance on the White Paper had been overtaken by the governor’s subsequent directive approving the recall of the affected workers. He concluded that the Plateau State Civil Service acted wrongfully by preventing the claimants from resuming duty after the directive had been issued.
Consequently, the court ordered the immediate reinstatement of the workers, awarded ₦5 million in general damages for the unlawful refusal to allow them to resume work, and granted an additional ₦1 million as costs of the action.
