Court orders Keystone Bank to pay N20.5m to ex-Staff over unlawful dismissal

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Kaduna division, has ordered Keystone Bank Limited to pay N20.5 million in damages to its former employee, Bamgboje Olasunkanmi, after ruling that his dismissal in 2016 was wrongful and unlawful.

Presiding Judge Simisola Oluyinka Adeniyi declared the bank’s actions unconstitutional and void, citing a failure to follow due process.

Olasunkanmi, a former Control Officer at Keystone Bank, was dismissed on August 3, 2016, for alleged misconduct.

Keystone Bank accused him of authorizing unauthorized withdrawals, including a N250,000 transaction. However, the court found that the bank did not sufficiently justify its reasons for the dismissal.

Justice Adeniyi nullified the dismissal letter, ordered Keystone Bank to unfreeze Olasunkanmi’s salary account, and awarded N20 million in general damages, alongside N500,000 for legal costs.

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Additionally, the bank must pay 10% interest on the judgment sum until the full amount is settled.

Olasunkanmi had challenged his dismissal through legal representation, arguing that the termination violated the rules of natural justice.

The court ruled in his favor, stating that his dismissal was not conducted in line with the bank’s policies or his employment contract.

Delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Olaniyi after reading through all the processes filed by the parties and legal authorities cited held that: “he focus of the Court in the determination of the issue at hand is therefore, on the above stated reasons that amounted to gross misconduct and for the dismissal of the Claimant……..

“…Based on the above analysis and the totality of the unassailable evidence adduced by the claimant, it is my finding that the defendant has not justified the reason for the claimant’s dismissal for misconduct. This is fatal to the case of the defendant. In the circumstances therefore, the claimant’s dismissal is wrongful. And I so hold.

“On the whole, I resolve the sole issue as set out against the Defendant and hold that the Claimant has established that the dismissal of his appointment by the Defendant is wrongful.