By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A Workers Union under the auspices of Joint Action Committee (JAC), on Wednesday, asked a National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos, to order the payment of N10 million each, to families of 35 deceased staff of the defunct African Continental Bank (ACB), being their accrued pension benefits for 20 years.
The claimants in the suit before Justice P.A. Bassey of National Industrial Court (NIC) are Adolphus Ukwueze, Divine Njoku and Mrs Eunice Anaele, who are suing under the name and style of JAC, as representatives of widows, children, and beneficiaries of 35 deceased staff of the bank, whereas the sole defendant in the suit is Heritage Bank of Nigeria Plc, which inherited defunct ACB.
In the suit marked NICN/LA/321/2018, the claimants are seeking a court order, directing the defendant to pay a lump sum of N10 million to each of the families of the deceased staff of defunct ACB as well as 21 per cent interest from March 14, 1997, until full and final payment of the benefits.
JAC is also seeking payment of compensation and general damages in the sum of N10,000 to the family of each deceased staff of the bank, for the trauma, stress, hardship, loss of education and shelter, caused them.
When the case was called up on Wednesday for hearing, Mrs Grace Fasoto announced appearance for the claimants, while Mr Taiye Shittu, appeared for the defendant.
Mrs Fasoto then informed the court that the suit was slated for hearing, adding that her witness was in court and ready to proceed.
But in his response, defence counsel told the court that it is rather unfortunate that he was not prepared to proceed, as he had a motion to regularise his processes and had paid the default fees.
Besides, he submitted that he was yet to serve claimant his statement of defence, with the necessary annexures.
However, claimant’s counsel opposed defence’s position, but added that where the court was inclined to granting an adjournment, she would then be asking for a cost of N150,000, because her witness had to travel from Owerri to Lagos in respect of the case.
In a short bench ruling, Justice Bassey adjourned the case until February 6 for hearing, and awarded N50,000 cost against the defence, which he ordered must be paid before the next adjourned date.
In their statement of claim, the claimants averred that the 35 deceased employees of the defunct ACB, worked for the bank from 1977 to 1997.
According to the claimants, their employment was however, terminated by a rationalization exercise of the bank in 1997 which was communicated to the deceased by a letter dated March 14, 1997.
They further averred that the defendant in the said letter, had informed the deceased that their one month salary in lieu of notice, as well as other terminal benefits and life assurance, would be paid to them by the end of March 1997.
Unfortunately, the said salaries, benefits, life assurance and pension, were never paid to the claimants till date.
According to them, the deceased all died at various times in their struggle to get these benefits.
The claimants, further averred that the matter was initially referred to Arbitration for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), in case No ACB TRUST/ ARB/01/05, pointed out that the tribunal had issued an award of the sum of N259.2 million as pension severance benefits in favour of the claimants.
Surprisingly, this award was never paid till date, inspite of several demand letters.
As representatives of the retired senior and junior staffs of the defunct bank, and also as representatives of the widows, children and beneficiaries of the 35 deceased, the claimants are therefore, seeking a court order, for the sum of N10,000 million to be paid to the families of each of the deceased.
They also want an order, directing the assessed sums, to be paid to their lawyer’s firm, who shall disburse same to the beneficiaries in conjuction with the claimants.