Hon. Justice Sanda Yelwa of the Lagos Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court has dismissed the suit filed by one Oluwabunmi against Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the LUTH Management Board, and the 3 others, challenging the invalidation of her employment for lacking merit.
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The Court found that the invalidation of Oluwabunmi’s employment could not be regarded as unconstitutional, null and void, and held that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and 4 others had provided adequate reasons connected with failure to comply with management directives and continued absence from duty.
From facts, the Claimant, Oluwabunmi, had submitted that she was prematurely retired, having only attained the age of 44 years with the expectation of 16 years more to attain her retirement age of 60 years in the service of the Hospital.
She averred that due to her medical condition, she repeatedly sought leave to undergo treatment overseas and later applied for six months’ leave of absence without pay, which was not responded to by the hospital. She maintained that despite being declared fit to continue in service by a Medical Board, Lagos University Teaching Hospital proceeded to invalidate her employment.
Oluwabunmi stated that her constitutional right to a fair hearing was violated, that the invalidation of her employment was unlawful, and claimed various monetary reliefs running into several millions of naira, including future emoluments, pension contributions, gratuity, life insurance benefits, special damages, and general damages.
In defence, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and 4 others maintained that Oluwabunmi persistently absented herself from duty without authorization despite several warnings and management directives requiring her resumption. They stated that while numerous requests for medical leave had earlier been approved, management eventually declined further extensions and directed her to return to work.
The Hospital and 4 others further argued that following Oluwabunmi’s continued absence, a Medical Board was constituted to assess her fitness for service and recommendations arising from the Board were communicated to her.
They maintained that Oluwabunmi failed to comply with the directives contained in the recommendations and continued to remain away from duty without official approval, and regarded it as “Absence from duty without Medical Board Advice”. Consequently, the Disciplinary Committee Recommended her INVALIDATION.
In opposition, counsel for Oluwabunmi argued that his client never concealed her medical condition from Lagos University Teaching Hospital, consistently keeping the hospital informed of her health status, treatment progress, and appointments with medical specialists through written communications.
Counsel further contended that the invalidation of his client’s employment was not carried out in accordance with due process and the applicable Public Service Rules, urging the Court to resolve the issues in her favour.
In a well-considered judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Sanda Yelwa, held that the evidence before the Court showed that Oluwabunmi had been afforded the opportunity to be heard regarding the circumstances leading to the invalidation of her employment.
Justice Yelwa held that Oluwabunmi’s prolonged absence from duty without approved leave amounted to a breach of the terms of her employment and that the failure of Lagos University Teaching Hospital to respond to her application for leave without pay could not be construed as approval of the request.
The Court further held that Oluwabunmi failed to demonstrate that the action taken by Lagos University Teaching Hospital was inconsistent with the terms of her employment, particularly having regard to the provisions of her letter of appointment, which permitted termination where an employee was found unsuitable for efficient and effective service.
Justice Yelwa stated that the evidence revealed that management considered Oluwabunmi’s repeated absences, the recommendations of the Medical Board, and her failure to comply with directives issued to her before deciding to invalidate her appointment.
The suit was accordingly dismissed in its entirety, with parties ordered to bear their respective costs.
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