By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
The National Industrial Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State division, has declared as wrongful and unlawful the sacking of Mr Celestine Igwe Chibuzor, an employee and Senior Custody Trainee with UBA Pension Custodian Limited.
Consequently, Justice P. I. Hamman of the Industrial Court ordered the UBA’s pension outfit to pay Mr. Celestine, a total sum of N7, 453, 991, 05 million, for the unlawful act, being the claimant’s withheld salary for the month of July and the shortfalls in the payments for the months of August to November, 2020, and general damages.
UBA Pension Custodian Limited is the pension arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA)
Besides, the judge ordered that the terms of the judgement must be complied with within 30 days from day of judgement, failing which it shall attract interest at 10 percent per annum until it is completely liquidated.
The cause of the legal action is that Mr. Celestine Igwe Chibuzor(claimant) has through his counsel, V. N. Ayogu, in a suit numbered NICN/PHC/22/2021, asked the court for the followings reliefs: “A declaration that the suspension of the claimant by the defendant was done without due process of law and therefore liable to be set aside.
“A declaration that the termination of the employment of the claimant by the defendant for an offence the claimant knows absolutely nothing about is unlawful, wrongful, unjustifiable, unwarranted and carries with it a stigma that has and/or is capable of negatively affecting the employment chances of the claimant.
“An order setting aside the unlawful suspension and termination of the employment of the claimant by the defendant, same having been done outside the laid down procedure guiding the employment relationship between the claimant and the defendant.
“The sum of N2,084,787.32 million being and representing the balance of the claimant’s full Six Months’ Salary from July- December, 2020, 13th month salary, One month salary in lieu of notice, money wrongly deducted from the claimant by the defendant as tax liability and leave encashment benefits due to the claimant.
“Interest calculated at 21 percent per annum on the said total sum of N2, 084, 787.32 million, being and representing the balance of the claimant’s full Six (6) Months’ Salary from July-December, 2020, 13th month salary, One month salary in lieu of notice, money wrongly deducted from the claimant by the defendant as tax liability and leave encashment benefits due to the claimant from July, 2020, till judgement is delivered in this case and thereafter interest calculated at 10 percent per annum on the judgement sum until liquidation thereof.
“The sum of N20 million, being and representing damages for the stigma, troubles, inhumane treatment, punitive, unfair and discriminatory labour practices unjustifiably meted out on the claimant by the defendant.
“The sum of N2. 3 million, only being and representing Legal Practitioners’ fees for legal letters and prosecution of this suit.
“An order directing the defendant to give the claimant an opportunity to resign from the defendant as against the unwarranted punitive sanction of termination which carries with it the stigma of wrongdoing or malfeasance, the claimant being innocent and having nothing to do with the frauds that led to the termination of his appointment.
“An order of Court directing the defendant to give positive written reference as it relates to the claimant in the event that a prospective employer requests same from the defendant with respect to the claimant, the claimant having meritoriously served the defendant for more than eight years.”
During the trial of the suit, the claimant told the court how he was employed by the defendant as a Custody Trainee on September 12, 2012 and rose to the position of Senior Custody Trainee, until his employment was terminated on December 9, 2020, when he was unceremoniously disengaged from the employ of the Company without requisite notice given to him by the defendant.
He stated that on July 6, 2020, he was summoned, alongside other staff of the defendant to the UBA Group Head Office, Marina Lagos, by the Fraud and Forensic Investigation Department of the group for questioning, where he was officially informed that sometimes in March, April, May and June, 2020, some alleged fraudulent withdrawals were made on a certain account number 1015872219 UPCL/PENSIONS Alliance Rsa Reconciliation A/C with the defendant.
That he was then interrogated for about two hours by fraud and forensic investigators after which he was instructed alongside four (4) other staff of the defendant to proceed to the Police Station (Lion Building) at Marina, Lagos for further questioning. At Lion Building Police Station, he was further questioned, made to write an extra judicial statement and eventually detained till the following day, only to be released on bail the next day, after being questioned by the Police.
The claimant averred that on July 13, 2020, he was again summoned by the Head, Human Resources, and upon getting to the Office, a letter of indefinite suspension without pay was given to him and he calmly informed the Head, Human Resources that the account in question was not under his watch.
He said a few days after the letter of indefinite suspension was handed to him, he was again called by the same Head, Human Resources to come to the Office from where he was asked to report at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Lagos State, for further investigation. He honoured the directive and went to the SCIID, Panti, Lagos, where he was once again extensively questioned by the Police, and after carefully examining the facts presented, the Police asked him to go.
The claimant further submitted that, on August 6, 2020, he was again summoned to the Office by the Head, Human Resources of the defendant and asked to proceed to Force Headquarters, Abuja for further interrogation with respect to the matter, adding that at great expense and discomfort, he proceeded to the FCIID, Abuja and after over five (5) days of intense interrogation by the Police, he was exonerated and asked to go as he was not in any way found culpable in the alleged fraud.
He was again invited by the defendant on September 17, 2020 to face a Disciplinary Committee (DC) set up by the firm to further investigate the alleged fraud. He appeared before the Panel where he maintained his innocence and pleaded with the Committee to review his case.
He stated that the disciplinary Committee concluded its investigation without the firm notifying him of the outcome of the investigation. And that while he was still waiting and hoping that his case would be reviewed by the management of the defendant, he was shocked when he was called to the Office and handed a letter of termination of his appointment on December 9, 2020 after about six (6) months of being left in the wilderness by the defendant over an offence he knew absolutely nothing about.
He denied being involved in any way with the said account, and could not have known what transpired in the said account as he was not one of the persons managing the said account.
That while some of his colleagues who were not directly involved with the said account, as well as the said Reconciliation Officer to the said account were asked to resign, he was singled out and had his appointment terminated.
He stated that with the termination of his employment after investing eight years in the defendant, it would be difficult for him to secure another appointment within the banking or pension industry in particular and the finance industry in general as the defendant will not give a positive reference to a would-be employer to him thus stifling his chances of getting an alternative employment to take care of himself, family and dependents.
Consequently upon his submissions, he urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought against the defendant.
In objecting the reliefs sought by the claimant, UBA Pensions Custodian Limited through its counsel, O. Wali (SAN) leading two other lawyers, urged the court to dismiss the claimant’s suit for want of proof.
The firm, while admitting that the claimant was her employee, however gave the claimant an option of one (1) month notice or one month salary in lieu of notice to terminate his employment, and he rightly opted for one month salary in lieu of notice, pleaded that the monthly salary of the claimant as at the time of his disengagement from the defendant’s employ as N136, 842.12.
It has a Fund Account Team which usually forwards telexes of all the Real-Time Gross Settlement (an instant payment/transfer system of money and/or securities) transactions gotten from United Bank for Africa Plc to the claimant’s Team for thorough review. It added that part of the responsibilities of the claimant’s Team is to identify any investments/settlements done for Pensions Alliance Limited that did not emanate from the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) on the respective dates.
The firm told the court that, even though its share capital is N2 billion, sometime between March and June, 2020, there were fraudulent transactions in the Pensions Alliance Ltd. Account No.1015872219 to the tune of N1,911,928,957.18 billion, with the use of forged transfer instructions, purporting to emanate from the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), and spurious email addresses.
The defendant stated that the fraudulent transactions arose from settlements of instructions/transactions that did not emanate from the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), adding that the claimant specifically handled genuine security offerings of Coronation Merchant Bank CP for PAL on 1st June, 2020 and at the Disciplinary Committee confirmed that he was fully aware that the Pensions Alliance Limited has never invested from Reconciliation Account.
UBA Pension stated further that, it was as a result of the significant lapses, carelessness, recklessness, heedlessness and incautiousness in the processing of the questionable instructions by the claimant and other members of his team that the frauds slipped undetected which led to the loss. The claimant and other persons involved were invited by the Fraud and Forensic Investigation Department of the UBA Group Head Office in Marina, Lagos in July, 2020 for questioning. Due to the unsatisfactory explanations regarding the frauds, they were requested to report to the Police Station (Lion Building) at Marina, Lagos for further questioning, and the Police after questioning them released them on bail on the same day, which was on the 6th of July, 2020.
It stated further that since the claimant was unable to explain to the Disciplinary Committee the reason(s) for not spotting, stopping and/or reporting some questionable debit instructions when telexes of all the Real-Time Settlement transactions gotten from UBA Plc were forwarded to his team for thorough review, the Committee found that the Claimant and other members of his Team had neglected and/or failed to properly review the telexes forwarded to them before same were settled.
It added that the Claimant was found culpable of acts of negligence, carelessness, recklessness, heedlessness and incautiousness in the performance of his duty and advised of the decision of the Disciplinary Committee as approved by the Board of Directors of the UBA Pensions Custodian Limited, before he was handed over a letter of termination of his appointment on December 5, 2020.
The firm stated that even though the Nigerian Police investigation on the matter was ongoing, its disciplinary measures were however not tied to the report on the Nigerian Police investigation or to the punishment for the crime of frauds being investigated by the Nigerian Police.
The firm stated further that the grievousness of the claimant’s offence was such that he ought to have been given a letter of dismissal, but was considerate and lenient enough to backtrack and instead gave the claimant a letter of termination of employment.
The firm upon conclusion of its defence, urged the Court to dismiss all the claims of the Claimant for want of proof.
Delivering judgement on the suit, after legally scrutinized all the parties arguments, exhibits tendered, cited legal authorities and issues raised, Justice Hamman held that: “In the final result, the claimant’s case succeeds in part. The lone issue is resolved in favour of the claimant, and the court hereby declares and orders as follows:
“it is hereby declared that the termination of the claimant’s employment is wrongful.
“The defendant is hereby ordered to pay the claimant the sum of N954,026.65 as the balance of his withheld salary for the month of July and the shortfalls in the payments for the months of August to November, 2020.
“The defendant is hereby ordered to pay the claimant the sum of N6, 499,964.4 calculated at the rate of N270,831.85 as salary per month in exhibit CW1Q – 24 months which is equivalent of two years’ salary as general damages for the wrongful termination of the claimant’s employment.
“The terms of this judgement shall be complied with within 30 days from day of judgement, failing which it shall attract interest at 10 percent per annum until it is completely liquidated.
“Judgement is entered accordingly. No order as to cost.”
