Media
- Home
- Details
Abuja---His Lordship, Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado of the National Industrial Court, sitting in Abuja, has ordered Global Energy Fleet Oil And Gas Limited and Nicon Luxury Hotel to pay their former staff late Abdullahi Shehu estate administrators the sum of N3.1 Million Naira, deducted from the salary of Late Shehu, for purported car loan which was never supplied to him and the sum of N300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) cost of action within 30 days.
The court noted that the defendants neglect, refusal, declining and failure to cross-examine the claimant witness after testimony means that the entire testimony has been accepted by the defendants as truth.
Vide a general form of complaint, the claimants had sought against defendants for A Refund of the sum of 3,381,000.00 deducted as car loan deducted from the salary of late Abdullahi Shehu, the car not supplied by the defendant up to the time they terminated the employment of the said late Abdullahi Shehu, The sum of 500,000.00 being cost of action and 500,000.00 as general damages among others
The claimant testified that they are administrators of the estate of late Abdullahi Shehu, a former member of staff of the defendants. According to the claimants, late Abdullahi Shehu was employed by the 1st defendant and posted to work at the office of the 2nd defendant until the time he was disengaged from service via letter of termination dated 29/12/2015.
Claimants averred that during the period late Abdullahi Shehu Served the defendants’ deductions were made from his salaries meant for a car loan which was never supplied to him before the termination of his appointment.
The Global Energy Fleet Oil And Gas Limited -1st defendant denies employing the Late Abdullahi Shehu and posting him to Nicon Luxury Hotel -2nd defendant. The 2nd defendant denied making deductions from gross salaries of Late Abdullahi Shehu amounting to the sum of N3,81,000.00 or any money whatsoever. The defendants averred that they are not liable to any of the claims or reliefs of the claimants.
Counsel argued that assuming without conceding the said Exhibit cannot be seen as computer-generated evidence and that it should be treated as a normal document, even though it carries the name of the purported maker, it does not carry the stamp or the signature of the defendant.
The defendant were of the view that the court ought not to have admitted Exhibit supplied by the claimants as the document is a computer generated evidence which has to comply with the provision of section 84 of the Evidence Act.
Counsel further contended that the claimants have failed to justify their claims and urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs.
Also, Counsel to the claimant contended that the claimants have established their claims and the burden has shifted to the defendant to prove otherwise urged the court to grant the claimants’ reliefs in this case.
Delivering the Judgment, the Presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado held that exhibit supplied is not a computer generated evidence that will warrant the application of section 84 of the evidence Act 2011.
“In my view, pay slips are documents that are usually issued ordinarily without the maker signing the document. In this respect pay slips are in the category of documents that do not need to be signed before they are admissible in law.
“If the defendants feel that the pay slips were not authentic then they have the onus of producing the authentic pay slips for the court to have compared the two and make a finding.
“The defendants have vide exhibit CW1D confirmed remittance of his pension contribution to his Pension fund Administrator Trustfund Pension Plc. In view of these findings, I have no doubt in my mind that late Abdullahi Shehu was employed by the 1st defendant and posted to 2nd defendants where he served as Business Development Officer (BDO), till the time he left the services of the defendants.
“From the foregoing revelation and in the absence of contradicting the evidence of the sole witness of the claimants, by the defendants, I have no difficulty in accepting that the claimants have established that the defendants did deduct Money purported to be car loan from the salary of late Abdullahi Shehu from June 2010 to November 2015 as shown by exhibit CW1E1-66.” Justice Kado
The court ordered defendants within 30 days to pay to the claimants the sum of N3,181,666.66 (Three Million One Hundred and Eighty One Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Naira Sixty-six Kobo only), being deductions from the salary of Late Abdullahi Shehu, for purported car loan which was never supplied to him and the sum of N300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) cost of action.
