The National Industrial Court, sitting Akure, the Ondo capital has ordered Ekiti State University (EKSU) Ado-Ekiti to reinstate the 32 technologists whose appointments were terminated by the institution in December last year.
The management of the institution had on December 5, 2019, disengaged over 900 of its workforce for alleged certificate forgery, irregular appointment, overage among other sundry allegations.
The presiding judge, Justice K.D Damulak, within the judgement within the suit number NICN/AD/03/2020 whereby the 32 technologists dragged EKSU, EKSU Governing Council and EKSU Vice-Chancellor (first to 3rd defendants respectively) to court, declared the termination of the applicant’s appointment as “unlawful, null and void.”
In the judgment delivered on Immaculate Conception , which copy was made available to journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Damulak said: “The claimants are hereby reinstated to their erstwhile positions in EKSU. the primary defendant (EKSU) is hereby ordered to pay the claimants (the 32 technologists) their three months’ salaries owed them before their unlawful disengagement.
“The first defendant (EKSU) is hereby ordered to pay the claimants their salaries, emoluments and allowance and from the date of their unlawful termination till reinstatement today 8th December 2020 and subsequently till retirement.
“The employment of the claimants with the defendants enjoys the statutory flavour. the utilization of the claimants with the defendants is hereby regulated by the defendants’ statute, regulations and therefore the claimant’s letter of employment,” the court ordered.
Although the court said the claimants weren’t entitled to actual damages , it ordered the defendants to pay each claimant cost of N50,000 only.
It ordered, “the salaries and price up till today 8th December 2020 are to be paid within 30 days of this judgment or the amounts will attract 10 per cent interest once a year .”
The 32 technologists had asked the court to work out whether their employments with EKSU enjoyed statutory protection and whether their disengagement was compatible with their status of employments which enjoyed the statutory flavour.
Among others, that they had sought a declaration of the court that their disengagement as staff of EKSU “in the way it had been done was unlawful, irregular, illegal and thus null and void and of no effect.
“An order for the immediate restoration and reinstatement of the claimants to their offices without loss of salaries, promotions, emoluments and other allowances thanks to them as staff of the primary respondent (EKSU).
“Payment of the claimants’ three months salaries, emoluments and other allowances owed them before the purported and unlawful disengagement,” they requested among others.
But counsel to the university had prayed the court to not grant the request of the 32 technologists, saying that they had not been ready to establish within the case that their appointments with EKSU were unlawfully determined.
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