*Orders Plateau Govt To Allow 31 Civil Servants Resume Duty, Awards ₦5m Damages Over Unlawful Refusal To Implement Governor’s Directive
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The Presiding Judge, Jos Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Galadima, has declared the refusal of the Plateau State Government, Plateau State Civil Service Commission and the Attorney General of Plateau State to allow Mr Henry and 30 others resume work in line with the directive of the Executive Governor of Plateau State as wrongful, unlawful, and illegal.
The Court ordered the Plateau State Government, Plateau State Civil Service Commission and the Attorney General of Plateau State to allow Mr Henry and 30 others to resume work in line with the directive of the Governor of Plateau State and the terms of their respective letters of appointment, and restrained the Plateau State Civil Service and the Attorney General from further preventing Mr Henry and 30 others from resuming duty.
Justice Galadima also awarded the sum of N5m as general damages in favour of Mr Henry and 30 others against the Plateau State Government, Plateau State Civil Service Commission and the Attorney General of Plateau State for the unlawful refusal to allow them to resume work, and further awarded the sum of N1m as costs of action.
The Court held that the Plateau State Government and 2 others failed to establish that the appointments of Mr Henry and 30 others were lawfully terminated.
From facts, the claimants, Mr Henry and 30 others, submitted that they were employed by the Plateau State Government through the Plateau State Civil Service Commission in 2022 and that following the emergence of a new administration in 2023, their appointments were suspended alongside those of other workers employed by the previous administration.
Mr Henry and 30 others maintained that after the review committee completed its assignment, the Governor of Plateau State approved the recall of workers whose appointments had been put on hold and directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to implement the directive, but despite reporting back to work, they were denied access to their places of assignment.
In defence, the defendants, Plateau State Government, Plateau State Civil Service Commission and the Attorney General of Plateau State, contended that the appointments of Mr. Henry and 30 others were temporary appointments which were subject to probation and that the recruitment exercise did not comply with due process, including requirements relating to advertisement, interviews and equitable representation across the state.
The Plateau State Government and 2 others further argued that the appointments of Mr Henry and 30 others had already been terminated following the findings of the Government White Paper on the Review of Employment in Plateau State. They maintained that by the time the action was instituted, the workers were no longer employees of the government, and urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.
In opposition, counsel to Mr Henry and 30 others, argued that the directive of the Governor expressly approved the immediate resumption of work by the remaining newly employed workers whose appointments had been put on hold and that the Plateau State government and 2 others had no lawful authority to exclude his clients from the implementation of the directive.
Counsel contended that the Plateau State Government, Plateau State Civil Service Commission and the Attorney General of Plateau State could not rely on alleged procedural irregularities in the recruitment exercise to deny the claimants the benefit of the Governor’s recall directive, particularly where no valid termination of their appointments had been shown.
After careful evaluation of the submissions of both parties, the affidavit evidence and exhibits tendered, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Suleiman Galadima affirmed the jurisdiction of the Court and held that Mr Henry and 30 others were entitled to institute the action jointly since they shared a common grievance arising from the refusal of the state government to implement the Governor’s recall directive.
The Court held that no document was placed before it stating that the employment of Mr Henry and 30 others had been terminated, and that the Governor’s recall directive remained valid, and that the Government White Paper on the Review of Employment in Plateau State merely contained recommendations and did not terminate their appointments.
Justice Galadima further held that the Plateau State Government and 2 others’ reliance on the White Paper Report had been overtaken by the subsequent issuance of the Governor’s directive approving the recall of the remaining workers whose appointments had been put on hold, and that the Plateau State Civil Service acted wrongfully by preventing Mr Henry and 30 others from resuming duty after the issuance of that directive.
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