By Desire Emmanuel
The National Industrial Court has ordered the authorities of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, to reinstate its doctor whose appointment was terminated in 2019, saying his sack was unfair and unjust.
The court also ordered the institution to pay all his salaries and allowances from 2019 when he was dismissed to date in addition to the sum of N1 million as aggravated damages.
Justice Oluwakayode Arowosegbe of the Enugu Division of the court nullified the purported termination of the employment of the worker, Dr. Michael Okoro, through a letter dated December 16, 2019.
According to court records, Dr Okoro said that his salary was stopped and his appointment was subsequently terminated without notifying him of any misconduct and without affording him the opportunity to know what he did wrong.
He added that Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital and others failed to follow the proper procedures in all the actions taken against him.
He also disclosed that all efforts to inquire why his salaries were not paid yielded no result, as he added that the committee that investigated his alleged misconduct was illegally set up by virtue of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Boards, etc] Act.
However, the teaching hospital and two other defendants, through their counsel, maintained that Dr. Okoro’s appointment was terminated because he absconded from duty and that he was given a fair hearing in accordance with the law.
The counsel added that the panel was duly constituted and sat to hear the case, and Dr. Okoro employment was duly terminated based on its recommendation to the university authorities.
But Dr Okoro, through his lawyer, replied that he never absconded from duty and that the purported panel before which he appeared was not a committee, as no one took any minutes during the proceedings. He also stated that the committee had in attendance DSS officials, which made it improperly constituted.
While giving his ruling, Justice Arowosegbe, held that there was no evidence that Dr Okoro was informed of the alleged misconduct, and therefore, there was no basis for the termination of his appointment.
He said available exhibits indicated that Dr Okoro’s salary was stopped in March 2019, and he was only issued a query on June 28, 2019, three months later, and he was still not informed exactly of the offence he committed, which proved that the teaching hospital had no genuine case against Dr. Okoro.
The judge also found out that the allegation of abscondment and absenteeism was not proved against Dr. Okoro, and that the stoppage of salaries without a lawful reason has been viewed in the international best practices of labour relations as a breach of constitutional provisions of human rights to life, dignity of a person and of right to property.
Justice Arowosegbe equally reasoned that Dr. Okoro’s salary was stopped long before the termination without suspension or interdiction and without giving reason for the stoppage despite the fact that he was still in the hospital’s employment for long before the termination of his appointment.
