Honorable Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi, the Presiding Judge at the Lokoja Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, has ordered the immediate reinstatement of three employees of the Kogi State Government to their respective positions without any loss of rank.
The court has also ordered the state government to pay arrears of salaries to the employees from January 2016 to June 2022, amounting to N30,654,000. In addition, the employees are entitled to arrears of salaries from July 2022 until the present date.
The employees, Mr. Godwin Anene, Mr. Egwaba Godwin, and Mr. Egwaba Anthony, claimed that they were subjected to a staff screening exercise in 2016, after which the state government stopped paying their salaries. They were subsequently terminated from their employment, allegedly in violation of the Public Service Rules.
The defense argued that the open screening exercise provided enough warning, query, and notice of termination, and that the termination notice published in the media was valid. Additionally, the defense argued that the inclusion of the Ibaji Local Government Area as a defendant rendered the case incompetent.
However, Justice Oyewumi dismissed the objections raised by the defense, stating that the Ibaji Local Government Area is a juristic personality, and that the procedure for dismissal under the Public Service Rules was not followed by the state government. The court held that employment with statutory flavor can only be terminated in accordance with the rules and regulations applicable to the employment, and any other mode of termination is null and void.
The court ordered the state government to follow the procedure for dismissal if it intends to dismiss the employees and awarded a cost of N300,000 to Mr. Godwin Anene and his co-plaintiffs. The judgment is to be complied with within 30 days.
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