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His Lordship, Hon. Justice F. I. Kola-Olalere of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Ibadan Judicial Division on Wednesday 25th April in a judgment dismissed claims and awarded counter-claim of N3Million to be paid by the claimant together with the cost of N50,000.00 to the defendant within 60days in a case of Mr. A. O. Olagunju And Skye Bank Plc.
On February 2, 2015 the claimant filed Complaint against the defendant seeking among others for the Sum of N4,600,000 (Four Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira Only) being the outstanding remunerations due and payable to the Claimant while in the employment of the Defendant.
The case of the claimant is that he was a Senior Manager in the employment of the Defendant when he disengaged himself from that employment. He continued that he joined the Defendant when it was Afribank Nigeria Plc and was placed on the same salary grade he was with Afribank Nigeria Plc. The claimant was formally issued with letter captured‘Re-employment’ dated 5th August, 2011 which contains the terms and conditions of his service with the defendant. The claimant averred that some allowances/entitlements were paid to staff of the defendant including staff working under his supervision when he was still in the employment of the defendant but which were not paid to him at the time of his exit, hence this action.
The case of the defendant on the other hand, is that the claimant is not entitled to the allowances being claimed by him; rather he is indebted to the bank to the tune of N3,039,499.13 (Three Million, Thirty Nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine Naira, Thirteen Kobo) as at 29/4/2015 on account of the staff loans granted him by the defendant while the claimant was still with the defendant.
Defendant further submitted that the claimant’s Statement of Account having been placed before the Court, the defendant has discharged the burden of proof placed on it with respect to the sum claimed, and that the onus is now on the claimant to fault the entries on his Statement of Account,
After reviewing the argument of the parties, the Court Presided by Hon. Justice F. I. Kola-Olalere expressed thus;
“I have carefully gone through the facts of this case, the written arguments of counsel to the parties together with their cited authorities.
The fact that the defendant paid a staff working under the claimant these claimed allowances is not an authority for the claimant to claim same, without clearly showing the Court how the said allowances are guaranteed or became payable to him from the parties’ employment agreement.
Consequently, I hold that the claimant has not discharged the burden of proof of his claimed allowances (for the sum of N4,600,000.00 as his: Performance induced pay up to September 2014, Bonuses for Year 2013 and up to September 2014, Salary enhancement for 2013 and up to September 2014) as placed on him by the provision of section 136 (1) of the Evidence Act. And so, the claimed reliefs are accordingly dismissed.
From his pleadings on this counter-claim, the claimant is not denying that he is indebted to the defendant on the building loans he took from the bank as an employee of the bank; in other words, the claimant admitted that he has not fully settled the building loans he took from the defendant and I so hold..
Consequently, I find and hold that the defendant has succeeded in proving its counter-claim of the sum of N3,039,499.13 against the claimant to the satisfaction of the Court. I further hold that the defendant is entitled to claim the said sum of N3,039,499.13 outstanding balance on the build loan from the claimant.
The claimant is hereby ordered to pay the judgment sum of N3,039,499.13 together with the cost of N50,000.00 to the defendant within 60days from today.
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