IN THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT OF NIGERIA
IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION
HOLDEN AT LAGOS
BEFORE HIS LORDSHIP HON. JUSTICE J. D. PETERS
DATE: SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
SUIT NO: NICN/LA/97/2015
BETWEEN
Bolanle Azeez Okunubi – Claimant
AND
Consolidated Discounts Limited – Defendant
REPRESENTATION
Grace Omole for the Claimant.
Olasupo Adebayo for the Defendant.
JUDGMENT
- Introduction and Claims
The Claimant approached this Court on 23/3/15 via his General Form of Complaint and Statement of Facts sought the following reliefs –
- An order directing the Defendant to pay the Claimant’s terminal benefits/gratuity in the sum of =N=49,618,354.14k (Forty-Nine Million, Six Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Naira, Fourteen Kobo) as at 31/10/14, due to the Claimant upon the termination of the Claimant’s employment on the 31/10/14.
- An order directing the Defendant, to pay interest at the rate of 21% p.a., on the computed terminal benefits due to the Claimant in the total sum of =N=49,618,354.14k (Forty-Nine Million, Six Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty-Four Naira, Fourteen Kobo) from the 31/10/14 till judgment and thereafter interest on the judgment sum at the rate of 6% p.a. till liquidation by the Defendant.
- General damages in the sum of =N=50,000,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) only against the Defendant for the delay, suffering and financial hardship visited on the Claimant by the Defendant in failing to pay the Claimant’s terminal benefits, upon terminating the Claimant’s employment on the 31/10/14.
The Claimant filed along with his Form 1, his statement of facts, witness statement on oath, list of witness as well as list and copies of documents to be relied on at trial. The Defendant reacted as appropriate by filing its statement of defence and all the requisite frontloaded processes in accordance with the Rules of this Court and counter claimed as follows –
- The sum of =N=28,000,000.00 (Twenty-Eight Million Naira Only) being the total cumulative money paid to Substance Investments Limited, as agent of the Defendant herein, which forms part of a series of secret, unauthourised, illegal, wrongful and inappropriate dissipation of the funds (i.e. assets) of the Defendant by the Claimant which led to its collapse.
- Interest on the above stated sum of money at the rate of 21% from 29/10/14 until judgment and thereafter at the rate of 10% until final liquidation.
- Costs of this counter-claim.
- Case of the Claimant
The Claimant opened his case on 13/1/16 when he testified as CW1, adopted his witness statement on oath dated 23/3/15 and tendered 18 documents as exhibits. The documents were admitted as exhibits and marked as Exh. C1 – Exh. C18.
The case of the Claimant as revealed from his evidence in chief is that subsequent to his employment by the Defendant, in November 2004, he was issued a letter of employment and a Staff Policy and Procedure Manual, which guided his employment with the Defendant; that during the course of his employment with the Defendant, he carried out the responsibilities of the various positions he held in the Defendant’s Company with diligence, dedication and commitment to the values of the Defendant’s company objectives, for a period spanning almost ten years from January 2005 to October 2014, during which period he earned different basic salaries for the various positions he occupied; that during the years of his employment with the Defendant, he received yearly letters of periodic increase in his salary and entitlements in recognition of his high job performance and dedicated service as clearly stipulated in the Defendant’s company policy manual to reward high performing staff members; that aside the payment of a basic salary to him during the course of his employment, he was also entitled to other benefits and allowances as advised by the Defendant in letters notifying me of the increment in his salaries and as also contained in the Staff Policy Manual for different grade levels; that from January 2013, when he was promoted to the position of an Assistant General Manager (AGM), his total entitlements inclusive of his basic salary was in the sum of =N=26,736,187.50k p.a.; that between November 2004 till October 2014, when his employment was terminated, he was an employee of the Defendant’s company for almost 10 years during which time I rose from the grade l
