Alex Enumah in Abuja
A former Chief Risk Officer of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr. Temidayo Adekanye has dragged NIBSS before the National Industrial Court in Lagos, over his alleged unlawful removal from office.
Adekanye, in the legal action filed on March 21, by his lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, SAN, is asking the court to void his sack from office, on the grounds of victimisation, adding that the management was misled in taking the decision.
While on one hand seeking his reinstatement to his former position, the claimant on the other, is asking the court to order the NIBSS, which is the sole defendant in the suit to pay him a whopping sum of N1 billion “for wrongful termination of employment and for breach of contract of employment.”
Adekanye who was relieved of his appointment in January this year said he joined the company as the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer on January 15, 2021; a position he had effectively held until his alleged unlawful sack.
According to him, throughout the period of his employment, he served the NIBSS “diligently and was never involved in any disciplinary misconduct of any kind.”
He observed that trouble however started when he had cause to report certain governance and transparency issues to the Board Audit and Risk Committee.
According to him, he had in the course of his duties observed and raised concerns “about serious financial misappropriation including but not limited to fundamental governance, transparency and fraud-related issues in the organisation.”
He added that based on the above, the Managing Director of the organisation took some punitive actions against him.
“It is pertinent to note that the MD, upon being aware of the request I made for access to data and information, immediately took the following drastic steps aimed at frustrating me out of the system,” he said, in a letter to the Board of the NIBSS, dated January 15.
“Within a few hours of requesting access to information and data, the Corporate Services Directorate, which I led in acting capacity, was removed from my direct reporting line and directed to report to the MD. The departments under this directorate are Finance, Admin, Corporate Communication, Strategy & Research and Chief Security Office (CSO),” he said.
The claimant explained that further steps were taken to make him redundant and completely obliterate him from meetings, including the withholding of his 2024 upfront payment.
He said that the final straw was the termination of his employment on January 15, 2024.
According to him, he was invited for a meeting at 10a.m. on the said date, alongside the Head of Human Resources, HOD Legal/Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer.
He said while the meeting was ongoing, “three armed men in military attire claiming to be officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) busted into the conference room, showed their ID cards”, and ordered him to hand over all his mobile devices and laptops.
The claimant disclosed shortly afterwards, he was offered the sum of N160 million as payoff package to resign from the company or risk the immediate termination of his appointment.
He added that his request for time to make informed decision was refused, following which a letter dated January 15, 2024 terminating his employment “ignobly,” was handed over to him.
Among the reliefs he is now seeking from the suit marked:NICN/LA/56/2024, include a declaration that the termination of his appointment is “unlawful, wrongful and unjustified”.
While asking the court to order his reinstatement as though he had never been terminated, the claimant is praying for, “An order of court directing the defendant pay to the claimant all his salaries, allowances and or other perquisites accruable to his office from the date of the purported termination until judgement is delivered.
“An order of court that the claimant is entitled to all the promotions which he would have had but for the purported termination.”
Aside from the N1 billion the claimant is seeking, he wants the court to further order the defendant to pay N250 million as special and general damages as well as another N150 million as exemplary damages for the infringement of his fundamental rights.
Also, he wants the defendant to pay N10 million as the cost of litigation.
Alternatively, Adekanye is praying the court to issue an order directing the defendant to pay him the full amount of salaries, allowances and other emoluments which he would have earned of the unexpired remaining years on the attainment of 60 years.
He also wants “an order of court that the defendant shall pay to the claimant such sum accruable as entitlements inclusive of all emoluments and 2 per cent of the defendant’s Profit Before Tax declared for the year 2023 and other entitlements applicable to the claimant in the circumstances”.
