By Desire Emmanuel
A National Industrial Court has quashed the suspension and subsequent retirement of a Deputy Director working with the Ondo State government, ordering his immediate reinstatement as well as payment of his salaries from 2020.
The man, Mr Olusegun Adeola, was suspended and later retired after he was involved in a financial transaction with an individual that went awry and which has nothing to do with his place of work.
He was said to have been suspended after the individual reported his inability to pay back a certain amount of money and the ministry where he was working set up a committee where he was ‘found guilty.’ He was suspended and thereafter compulsorily retired.
However, Justice K.D. Damulak of the Akure Judicial Division of the court, on Monday, declared the suspension and compulsory retirement of Adeola by the Ondo State Civil Service Commission as unlawful, null, void, and of no legal effect whatsoever.
The judge held that the issue in contention concerned the personal life of Mr Adeola, as it was not a transaction conducted at his work place; and that the issue was one of indebtedness that should ordinarily not concern an employer unless it interfered with Adeola’s work.
According to court documents, Mr Adeola, through his counsel, submitted that the transaction between him and one Adamu over a travel ticket was personal and did not in any way affect or embarrass the Ondo State Civil Service, adding that the Nigeria Police had investigated the matter and found him not culpable.
He added that the panel set up by the ministries involved were biased and that he was never given an opportunity to defend himself on all allegations, and urged the court to grant the reliefs sought by him.
On the other hand, counsel to the Ondo State Civil Service Commission, Ondo State Government and its Attorney General argued that Adeola was found culpable of misconduct and that his compulsory retirement was carried out in accordance with the Civil Service Rules.
The counsel contended that Adeola’s acts warranted disciplinary actions, including compulsory retirement, and urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.
However, giving his judgment, Justice Damulak ruled that the suspension of Mr Adeola was a vindictive one, which the court will not allow to stand because the Ondo State Civil Service Commission is not a debt recovery agency and cannot make refusal of Adeola to pay his debt as a ground for his suspension and retirement.
He also held that Adeola was not given a fair hearing by the committee that tried him, as the issue of the transaction between him and the individual was a private matter for which the police had cleared Adeola and could not later form the basis of his suspension and compulsory retirement from service.
Justice Damulak therefore ordered the Ondo State Government, its Attorney General and the State Civil Service Commission to reinstate Mr Adeola until the time he will retire lawfully, with payment of outstanding salaries and accruing allowances from April 2020 to date, and the sum of N500,000 as the cost of litigation.
The judge also granted an order restraining the Ondo State Civil Service Commission, Ondo State Government and Its Attorney General, their privies, allies, agents or any person taking instruction directly or indirectly from them from victimising, harassing or embarrassing Mr Adeola in the course of his duties.
