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The presiding Judge of the National Industrial Court, Yenagoa Judicial division, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Bashar Alkali has declared the procedure adopted by the Federal Road Safety Commission in terminating the employment of Ekpang Thomas and 4 other officers for patrol misconduct as null and void, for not in accordance with the FRSC Regulation on Maintenance of Discipline.
The court ordered for their immediate reinstatement with all rights and privileges, including the payment of all outstanding salaries, arrears, benefits, allowances, promotions and other entitlements from 2014 till date.
FRSC submitted that claimants were scheduled for Port- Harcourt- Ahoada- Mbiama route, but the surveillance team found them on a totally different route over 30km away from their scheduled route, that the punishment for diversion of route or change of route is termination punishable under FRSC Regulations on maintenance of Discipline that claimants appointment was rightfully terminated after following due process urged the court to dismiss the Claimant’s claim with substantial cost.
The claimants maintained that their dismissal based on alleged offence did not follow due process that they were recalled to the FRSC Abuja without given any reason and were asked to write statement at the intelligence office concerning the event that happened on the 4th day of September 2014 and were subsequently asked to report back to their units.
The claimants claimed further that they were again summoned to the defendant headquarters Abuja on the 18th day of November 2014 and a disciplinary panel was constituted to try them for the event of the 4th day of September 2014 and were not issued with any query by their unit commander, nor the sector commander of Rivers state and the headquarters of the defendant on breach of any section of Regulations Maintenance of Discipline 2013, or any other operational regulations.
Delivering judgment, the trial Judge, Justice Alkali held that any employment with statutory backing where certain actions are to be taken, such actions must be undertaken in accordance with due process and the rules/regulations prescribed by the laws governing such employment.
“There is nothing before this court to show that the Claimants were informed in writing on the said allegation of patrol misconduct and they were equally not issued or served with any query so as to give the Claimants the opportunity to respond to such query. The effect of that is all decisions reached with respect to that allegation is a nullity.†Justice Alkali ruled.
