Hon. Justice Sanda Yelwa of the Lagos Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court has nullified the decision of the management of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to rely on the report of the 3-man investigating panel that led to the purported dismissal of Mr. Borisade from service as a violation of his right to fair hearing guaranteed under the Constitution.
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The Court declared the locking up Mr. Borisade in a cell at the Lagos Zonal Command of the Agency for 21 (twenty one) days and in Abuja for 2 (two) days) as wrongful, irregular, unwarranted and in violation of Mr Borisade’s right to dignity of his human person and right to personal liberty as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Court ordered NAPTIP to pay Mr. Borisade the sum of N10m as general damages for unlawful detention and violation of his fundamental rights; N1m as compensation for loss of use of seized devices, and N480k as replacement value of a Samsung A33 phone and HP Core i3 laptop if not returned, the payment of N86,973 monthly salary and allowances for a period of 32 months from July 2023 till the time the time of judgement, payable within 30 days.
From facts, the claimant, Mr. Borisade had submitted that he was employed by the NAPTIP and rose through promotion to the position of Chief Assistant Detective, but was detained by the Agency for 21 days in Lagos and an additional 2 days in Abuja in November 2022 following allegations of misconduct.
Mr Borisade maintained that while in custody, he was denied access to his family members and legal practitioner, and those officers of the NAPTIP seized his Samsung A33 phone and his wife’s HP laptop from his residence without a warrant and continued to retain the devices, and he was not giving fair-hearing prior to his dismissal from service.
In defence, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons averred that it acted within its statutory powers as an arresting and investigating agency and followed the Public Service Rules in determining the employment of Mr Borisade, and urged the court to dismiss the case.
In a well-considered judgment, Hon. Justice Sanda Yelwa held that the failure of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons to call evidence in support of its defence rendered its pleadings bare and unsupported, leaving the credible and uncontroverted evidence of Mr Borisade before the Court to be accepted.
The Court held that the employment of Mr Borisade with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons was one with statutory flavour governed by the Public Service Rules and could only be determined in strict compliance with the applicable statutory provisions.
On Borisade’s detention, Justice Yelwa held that NAPTIP is not a court of law, and declared Borisade’s detention beyond constitutional limits and seizure as illegal, wrongful, oppressive and unconstitutional.
Justice Yelwa entered judgment in favour of Mr Borisade Joel, declared his dismissal by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons null and void, affirmed that he remains in the lawful employment of the Agency until properly determined in accordance with the Public Service Rules, and restrained the Agency from further harassment or interference with his duties.
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