Industrial Court orders Local Govt to pay Driver’s Salaries from July 2013 to retirement 2025
The Presiding Judge of the Akure Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Kiyersohot Damulak, has ruled that the employment of Mr. John by Ido Osi Local Government was never terminated.
Justice Damulak consequently ordered the Chairman, Secretary and Ido Osi Local Government to pay John his outstanding salaries from July 2013 to September 27, 2025.
The court also directed the local government authorities to process and issue John’s retirement documents and pay his retirement entitlements. In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay N500,000 as costs of the action.
The court rejected the defendants’ claim that John had absconded from duty, noting that they failed to establish that his employment was lawfully terminated.
Justice Damulak observed that the defendants had admitted that no letter of termination was issued to John and that no disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him.
According to the facts presented before the court, John was employed as a driver by Ido Osi Local Government in May 2001, and his appointment was confirmed in March 2004. He was subsequently promoted to Senior Driver on Grade Level 06, Step 2.
John told the court that while he was attached to His Royal Highness, another driver was assigned to replace him following a request by the monarch. He said his salary was subsequently stopped, despite the fact that he was never issued a letter terminating his appointment or subjected to any disciplinary process.
He further stated that he repeatedly reported to the Local Government Secretariat seeking clarification over the stoppage of his salary, but the Director of Administration allegedly refused to attend to him and instead ordered that he be driven away whenever he appeared at the secretariat.
Counsel to John told the court that his client was never issued a query, while his salaries and other emoluments remained unpaid despite repeated efforts to resolve the matter. The lawyer urged the court to grant the reliefs sought by his client.
In their defence, the Chairman, Secretary and Ido Osi Local Government argued that John’s employment was never terminated because he had allegedly absconded from duty in April 2013 without notifying the council.
The defendants also argued that the suit was statute-barred under the Ekiti State Limitation Law and maintained that John was not entitled to salary arrears, gratuity or pension.
They contended that salaries were payable only to employees who remained in service, while gratuity and pension became payable upon retirement. They therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
However, counsel to John countered that his client never absconded from duty and that his employment had not been lawfully terminated. The lawyer urged the court to find that John had established his entitlement to the reliefs sought.
In its judgment, the court, after evaluating the pleadings, oral testimony and documentary evidence before it, dismissed the defendants’ objection based on limitation.
Justice Damulak held that John’s claim for unpaid salaries arising from work and labour constituted a continuing injury and was therefore not caught by the limitation law.
The judge further ruled that, both in fact and in law, John’s appointment was never terminated. According to the court, the monarch to whom John had been attached was not his employer and therefore lacked the legal authority to terminate his appointment.
Justice Damulak also held that the Chairman and the other defendants failed to prove their allegation that John had absconded from duty.
The court noted that the defendants neither issued John a query nor produced credible evidence to substantiate the allegation. As a result, Justice Damulak ruled that the defendants could not rely on the alleged abscondment as a defence to John’s claim for unpaid salaries.
