Court reinstates sacked CBN worker, 21 years after

Source Guardian

TWENTY-ONE years after his appointment was wrongfully terminated in June 1992, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has unanimously reinstated a sacked employee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Akinlusi.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Fatima Omoro Akinbami, leading other two justices who concurred with her decision, the appellate court held that the appointment of Akinlusi was wrongfully terminated and, therefore, he should be reinstated.

The appellate court faulted the decision of the lower court, which affirmed that Akinlusi’s appointment was wrongly terminated but refused to order his reinstatement on the ground that his job does not enjoy statutory flavour.

“The learned trial judge correctly arrived at the findings that the termination of employment of the cross-appellant is wrongful. He misapplied the principle when he held that the plaintiff is not entitled to an order of re-instatement because the plaintiff has failed to establish a contravention of an enabling statutory provision as in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Management Board Versus Nnoli 1991 6 NWLR part 250 at 752.

“From the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of CBN Versus Igwillo (Supra), the law is now settled that where an employee’s service is protected by statute and his employment is wrongfully terminated, he would be entitled to re-instatement”, Justice Akinbami ruled.

The judge said: “From the decisions of the apex court, I believe it is indeed well settled that where an employee’s service is protected by statute and his employment is wrongfully terminated, he would be entitled to re-instatement to his office and in addition to damages representing his salaries during the period of his purported removal. This point has been emphasised in several judicial authorities of the Apex Court.”

Akinlusi had filed the suit at the Lagos High Court challenging his dismissal on the spurious allegation of misconduct in June 1992. But the trial judge, in his judgment, found that his employment was wrongly terminated, but declined to make an order for his reinstatement.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court, which faulted the termination of Akinlusi’s appointment, the CBN filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

At the same time, Akinlusi cross-appealed in the same court, insisting that the lower court erred by faulting the termination of his appointment without ordering his reinstatement.

However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by the CBN and allowed the cross-appeal.

The reliefs, which the cross appellant sought at the lower court, which the appellate court affirmed, include the sum of N24.205 per annum as his annual salary starting from June 15, 1992, till judgment is given.

He also wants the sum of N75,000 as furniture grant he ought to have enjoyed if his employment had not been unlawfully terminated, as well as the sum of N200,000 as general damages.