Mr Yisa Usman, a Deputy Director with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has filed a N150 million suit against the board over alleged unlawful dismissal.
Usman, in the suit marked: NICN/ABJ/266/2023 and filed by
his lawyer, Oseini Bamigbaye from the Chambers of Mohammed Shuaibu, at the
National Industrial Court, Abuja, sought nine reliefs.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while Usman is the
claimant, JAMB is the sole defendant in the case dated and filed September 29,
2023.
The claimant is praying the court to declare that the
constitution of the Board’s Directorate Staff Disciplinary Committee set up by
the office was wholly irregular, illegal, null and void for failure to comply
with Article 3.5.4 of the Board’s Staff Manual and Conditions of Service.
He is also praying the court to declare that the composition
of the committee, mostly consisting of the board’s registrar and other
directors who were beneficiaries of infractions exposed by him “in Item No. 6,
Page 5 of his response dated April 3, 2023, to the query issued on March 31,
2023, is unconstitutional, null and void.”
He premised his argument on the grounds that his right to
fair hearing could not have been guaranteed before the committee.
Usman is equally urging the court to declare that “the
claimant’s purported dismissal by the defendant without the consideration of
the Committee’s Report by the defendant’s board is unlawful, illegal null and
void.”
The claimant, who sought an order setting aside his
“purported dismissal” by the board, prayed the court for an order reinstating
him “to his position with full entitlements, benefits and perks due to him by
virtue of his position.”
He sought “an order granting to the claimant all the
salaries, allowances, perks due to him or that would have been due to him but
for the purported dismissal.
“An order compelling the defendant to promote the claimant
as the Director of Finance and Account, being the most senior and qualified
director in the Finance Department; the current Director of Finance and Account
(DFA), having been holding that office illegally since May 9, 2022, when he
turned 60 years old.
“Exemplary damages in the sum of N150, 000, 000.00(one
hundred and fifty million naira) for illegally and unlawful dismissing the
claimant as well as the emotional, reputational, psychological pain and trauma
caused by the malicious, illegal, and arbitrary actions of the defendant.
“The cost of this action includes a reasonable cost to cover
solicitor’s fees.”
In his statement of material facts, Usman averred that he
joined JAMB in Sept 11, 1997 as an Accountant II and rose to the position of
deputy director after receiving several promotions in the board.
He said at the time of the dismissal, he was in his eight
years as deputy director in federal service and next in line to be the DFA.
He said his professional education, training, experience,
and personal principles “shaped him as an accountable, honest, transparent,
efficient, and anti-corruption individual who cannot tolerate any form of
infractions and always speak up against them.”
According to him, this nature resulted in conflicts with the
management of the board, as he is seen as an obstacle that needs to be removed
He said his commitment to due process and aversion to
corrupt practices led him to lodge complaints to the management of JAMB, the
Head of Service, the EFCC, ICPC and the office of the Permanent Secretary
Federal Ministry of Education about financial interactions in the board.
Usman said unfortunately, these actions did not sit well
with the board’s management, particularly its Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.
NAN observes that no fewer than 33 letters, exhibited in the
court documents, were written by the claimant to different government agencies
in his efforts to blow the whistle on various infractions, violations of due
process, laws, and civil service rules against the board in relation to
procurement, bookkeeping and employment regulations.
Against this background, Usman averred that he suffered
continuous transfers despite his constant pleas due to his physical and health
issues.
According to him, within a period of five years, the
claimant was maliciously transferred from Abuja to Kogi to Kaduna and then to
Port Harcourt and back to Kaduna, despite his physical challenges and the
distance from his family.
He alleged that the purpose of these transfers was to remove
him from important core activities of the board and prevent him from raising
concerns about any notable infractions.
Besides, he said that in the bid to shut him down, a trumped
up charge was filed against him at Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja.
“Despite all these challenges, the claimant diligently and
commendably performed his duties and responsibilities,” he said.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae adjourned the matter
until March 11 for further mention due to non-representation of JAMB in court
when the matter came up on Monday.
The judge also directed that a hearing notice be issued and
served on the defendant against the next adjourned date.
NAN reports that the police had, on June 14, 2023, arraigned
Usman before Justice Nkeonye Maha of a FHC on allegations bordering on
threatening Mrs Raheemat Oloyede on the phone with the intent to blackmail her
husband, Prof. Ishaq, the JAMB’s registrar, among other counts.
But Usman’s lawyer notified the FHC court, when parties
returned to court, that while the trial was still ongoing, his client was
dismissed when parties ought to respect and submit themselves to the
jurisdiction of the court and maintained a status quo pending the hearing and
determination of the charge.
0 comments:
Post a Comment