By Amos Aar
FOUR sacked employees of the Benue State Government who served with the Government House, Makurdi, have cried out over what they described as undue delay in their suit challenging the termination of their appointments in 2017.
The four employees, Agbo Lucky, Yaasa Simon Igbalagh, Godwin Gbande and Terver Gbakaan, whose employments were terminated two years into the administration of incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom in 2017 for alleged theft of a plasma TV and two generator batteries from Government House, had on 30th August 2017, dragged the Benue State Government to the Makurdi Division of the National Industrial Court challenging their dismissal, saying the action was unlawful, null and void.
In the suit No. NKN/MKD/59/2017, and presided over by the Honourable Justice Dr I. J. Essien, the Benue State Government, Governor Samuel Ortom and the Benue State Ministry of Justice, are co-defendants; 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
Counsel to the sacked employees, D. D. Aboshi Dogara Esq., expressed worry over the delay in the determination of the suit occasioned by serial adjournments that have made the matter to linger over six years after commencement of litigation.
“Each time we go to court; government witnesses will not come or the court will not sit for one reason or the other.
“The last time the case came up was on the 15th March, 2022 and it was adjourned till 1st November 2022 for their defence because they have not entered their defence. We are told the presiding judge was on a national assignment,” Dogara said.
Prayers
In the suit, the claimants are praying the court to direct the defendants to pay them their respective salary arrears.
The 1st and 4th claimants, Agbo Lucky and Yaasa Simon Igbalagh, respectively, averred that as at 23rd May, 2017 their salary arrears stood at three hundred and eighty-two thousand, forty-eight naira (N382,048) each while the 2nd and 3rd claimants, averred that their outstanding arrears stood at four hundred and eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty naira (N408, 750.00) each.
They are therefore praying the court to order the defendants to pay these entitlements. They are also praying the court to direct the defendants to reinstate them by setting aside the purported termination of their appointments as well as direct the defendants to pay a special damage of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) only and general damages of ten million naira (N10,000,000) to all of them.
Genesis
The claimants in their statements of claim averred that their ordeal began in the course of discharging their duties when they were arrested by the police amongst other employees of the state government on alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, housebreaking and theft.
They also averred that following police investigation, they were charged along with other suspects before Chief Magistrate Court 9, Makurdi on 17th May, 2017 and that the case is still pending.
They averred that while the case against them and others was pending at the Chief Magistrate’s Court, the 1st defendant (State Government) with the advice of the 3rd defendant (Ministry of Justice) through the office of the 2nd defendant (Governor Ortom) terminated their employment on 23rd May, 2017 in violation of extant due process of the law.
This, the claimants averred, is a violation of their human rights and disrespect to extant civil service procedure.
Defence statement
The defendants, in their joint statement, denied all the claims, describing them as absolute falsehood. The joint defence statement, admitted that the various appointments of the claimants were upgraded from casual to temporary status, and that “the claimants committed a serious misconduct which ordinarily would have attracted a summary dismissal” but were spared by mere termination of appointment after due process was followed.
The joint statement of defence further averred that [even though investigation by the police linked the claimants with the commission of the alleged theft following which the claimants were arraigned, the defendants still followed due process in terminating the appointment of the claimants. The defendants also averred that they availed the claimants the opportunity to be heard and it was after the committee set up to look into the matter submitted its report that the claimants’ appointments were terminated on the grounds of serious misconduct.
“The claimants’ claims are entirely denied, and the defendants shall contend that the claimants are not entitled to any of the reliefs contained in paragraph 42 (a) — (i) of the statement of claim and shall at the hearing urge this Honourable Court to dismiss same for lacking in merit,” the statement of defence states.
The claimants had on 28th February, 2018 while responding to the joint defence debunked all the allegations levelled against them by the defendants, averring that since their employment as casual workers up to the time they were converted to temporary appointment, they never committed any offence in the course of their duties with either the defendants or anybody.
To buttress their argument, the claimants noted that the 4th claimant was not among the staff accused of the offences of criminal conspiracy, housebreaking and theft and was never arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court or any court before his appointment was terminated.
They therefore argued that the allegation of criminal conspiracy, housebreaking and theft levelled against them was a plot to justify the termination of their employment without any plausible reason.
The claimants also averred that the police investigation for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, housebreaking and theft never linked them with the said offences or any offence(s) and that they vehemently denied the alleged crimes while at the police station especially when no incriminating item was found in their possession.
The claimants argued thus: “The defendants did not set up any administrative committee or any committee to investigate or hear the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants for the alleged offences against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants before their employment was terminated by the defendants without due process of the law.
“There was no any committee report indicting the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants of any serious misconduct before the defendants, without following due process terminated the appointments of the claimants.
“When the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants were employed as casual workers, they were paid five thousand naira (N5,000.00) only monthly on table payment and they signed against their names before payment.
“The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants’ employment were converted from casual to temporary, they opened bank account and were issued personal subhead numbers for their salaries to be paid through the bank.
“After the issuance of the personal sub-head numbers, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th claimants were issued temporal identify cards by the head of service of the defendants,” the claimants alleged.
The case comes up on Tuesday, 1st November, 2022 for further hearing.
