Court strikes out JAMB worker’s suit over failure to prove case

The National Industrial Court on Tuesday struck out a suit filed against the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), for failure of the claimant to prove that his dismissal was unlawful.

The claimant, Suleyman Sanni approached the court to declare his dismissal unlawful and sought for reinstatement, payment of his salaries and entitlements.

Sanni told the court that due process of fair hearing was not accorded him before his dismissal, and therefore, the terms and conditions of service as stated in his employment letter was breached.

Delivering judgment, Justice Rakiya Haastrup, said that the inability of the claimant to tender his letter of employment as material evidence of fact to determine whether or not his dismissal was unlawful had truncated his case.

Haastrup said that the inability of the claimant to present the employment letter made it difficult for the court to determine how the defendant breached the terms and conditions of his employment.

On the issue of due process not followed as alleged by the claimant, the judge said that the claimant was given opportunity to defend himself on the allegation against him, contrary to his assertion that he was not accorded fair hearing.

The claimant’s counsel, Yusuf Kadiri, in his argument said that the claimant’s employment was governed by his letter of employment and the Public Service Rules (PSR), 2009.

The counsel further averred that procedures, as stipulated in the PSR, were disregarded in the dismissal of the claimant.

He said that by virtue of letter of employment and the PSR, due process was not followed and the power to dismiss his client from service was vested on the board of the defendant.

He said that as at the time the claimant was dismissed, JAMB did not have a governing board.

Kadiri added that the claimant was dismissed on the directive of the minister of education, which made the dismissal unlawful.

Fortunatus Bonire, the defense counsel, in his submission said that the claimant was dismissed over his engagement in unauthorised admission exercise in 2016.

He insisted that due process was followed before the claimant was dismissed.

Bonire said the claimant was issued a query, faced a disciplinary panel which indicted him and was subsequently dismissed from the service of the board.

He said that the Minister of Education, by powers vested on him by the JAMB Act, could perform certain functions of the board as was done in this case.

It was reported that similar suits filed against JAMB by dismissed workers were struck out by the same court over their failure to either tender their conditions of service or employment letters.