National Industrial Court has ordered the payment of N629 million to an

employee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over unjust termination

of appointment by the management in 2018.

The Presiding Judge of the Port Harcourt Judicial Division, Justice Faustina Kola-

Olalere, ruled that the dismissal of the complainant, Dr. Williams, from NNPC

was wrongful as it did not follow relevant labour laws.

On the official website of the National Industrial Court, Williams asserted that he

worked as an Assistant Administrative Supervisor for NNPC until his abrupt and

malicious dismissal, urging the court to grant N25million in damages for breach

of contract and unlawful dismissal.

The claimant’s lawyer, F.K. Amachree Esq., argued that, after identifying the

perpetrator of fraudulent activities within the company, NNPC “took additional

steps against Dr. Williams, who had served for over 30 years without any queries

or warnings and had never breached the Corporate Policy and Procedures

Guidelines, ignoring the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee and

dismissing him abruptly.”

The counsel contended that, according to employment law, NNPC failed to

exhaust or explore all means of fair hearing as outlined in the Corporate Policy &

Procedure Guide before dismissing his client, while, NNPC’s legal team argued

that Williams’s dismissal was lawful due to his gross negligence and dereliction

of duty, which caused significant loss to the company, and Justice Kola-Olalere

observed that NNPC failed to prove its case of criminal or gross negligence

against the former staff member beyond a reasonable doubt.