Court Orders Med-View Airline To Pay Garba Abubakar N5m Claim

The Presiding Judge, Kano judicial division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Ebiye Isele has ordered Med-View Airline Nig. Ltd to immediately pay Mr. Garba Abubakar the sum of N5,069,048:00 (Five Million Sixty-Nine Thousand Forty-Eight Naira) being his unpaid salaries for the months of February – December 2018 and the unremitted monthly deduction made from his salaries from May 2016 – December 2018 within 60 days.

From facts, the Claimant- Mr. Garba Abubakar had submitted that he was employed by Med-View Airline as a marketing officer, promoted and posted to several stations within and outside Nigeria. He maintained that in year 2017, he was in Dakar until March 30th 2018 when he was posted back to Nigeria.

He averred further that upon his return to Nigeria, he resumed work in April 2018 and worked up until December 2018 when the company dispensed with his services, his salary for the months of February 2018 to December 2018 was not paid and the company also failed to remit monthly deduction made from his salaries to his Pension Managers for the months of May 2016 December 2018.

The defendant- Med-View Airline Nig. Ltd filed a preliminary objection, and urged the court to dismiss or strike out Mr. Abubakar’s suit for non-compliance with the Rules of Court, Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and for lack of endorsement on the Summons served on the firm outside Borno State.

After hearing from both parties, the court struck out the said Preliminary Objection for lacking merit and the case proceeded to hearing.

After the dismissal of the Preliminary Objection, Med-View Airline failed to file its defense, neither did it take any step to file any further process in the suit as required by the Rules of Court as Mr. Garba Abubakar urged the court to grant his reliefs sought.

In a well-considered judgment, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Ebiye Isele held that where an adversary fails to adduce evidence to put on the other side of the imaginary scale of justice, minimal evidence adduced by the other side will suffice to prove his case.

The Court declared that Mr. Garba Abubakar is entitled to and be paid his salaries for the months of February – December 2018 totalling the sum of N4,470,000:00 (Four Million Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira), and the sum of N599,048:00 (Five Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand Forty-Eight Naira) being the unremitted monthly deductions made by the Airline from his salaries from the months of May 2016 to December 2018.