NICN rules dismissal of Tajudeen Balogun unlawful, cites breach of fair hearing and faulty information from OAU

The Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has ordered a bank to reinstate a former employee, Mr Tajudeen Balogun, and pay him N5.5 million in damages for wrongful dismissal.

The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Maureen Esowe in Suit No. NICN/LA/471/2022, held that the bank breached its disciplinary procedures and denied the claimant a fair hearing before terminating his employment.

Balogun was dismissed over alleged discrepancies in his academic records—claims the court found were based on incorrect information supplied by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

Justice Esowe ruled that the dismissal was unlawful, noting that the allegation of certificate forgery was neither disclosed to the claimant nor subjected to any internal disciplinary process.

“The defendant breached the terms contained in its staff handbook and denied the claimant fair hearing. The dismissal was based on an allegation of certificate forgery that was not disclosed to the claimant or subjected to any disciplinary process,” the judge stated.

In addition to the N5 million awarded as damages, the court granted N500,000 as litigation costs in favour of Balogun.

Through his counsel, Gbenga Paseda & Associates, the claimant had asked the court to declare his dismissal unlawful, null, and void, arguing that it stemmed from a false allegation linked to an error by OAU during a verification exercise.

The issue dates back to November 2005 when Oceanic Bank International Limited dismissed Balogun without stating any reason in the termination letter or accusing him of misconduct at the time.

Court records showed that the bank had earlier sent confidential reference forms to OAU on February 28 and June 1, 2005, requesting verification of Balogun’s academic credentials.

In its response, the university reportedly stated that Balogun graduated with a Third-Class degree, contradicting the Second-Class Lower degree on the certificate he submitted during recruitment.

Relying on this conflicting information, the bank concluded that the certificate was forged and subsequently dismissed him.

However, Balogun maintained that he was never informed of the allegation nor given an opportunity to defend himself.

He only became aware of the reason for his dismissal in 2011 during a visit to the Department of Agricultural Engineering at OAU while processing documents for postgraduate studies, where he discovered the correspondence between the bank and the university.

OAU later admitted that the information it provided in 2005 was erroneous. In a letter dated October 14, 2011, the Office of the Vice-Chancellor clarified to Ecobank that Balogun had, in fact, graduated with a Second-Class degree.

Justice Esowe emphasised that academic records are sensitive and capable of significantly affecting an individual’s career and reputation, and must therefore be handled with utmost care.

The court further held that the bank failed to follow its own disciplinary procedures, as outlined in its staff handbook, and did not give the claimant an opportunity to defend himself before taking action.

It also rejected the bank’s claim that the dismissal was based on an alleged excess payment transaction of N110,000 rather than the academic discrepancy.

In awarding damages, the court stated: “Damages assessed in the sum of N5 million is awarded against the defendant in favour of the claimant.”

The court also granted litigation costs after confirming that the claimant provided evidence of legal expenses, including a receipt showing payment of N250,000 as part of his counsel’s professional fees, with an outstanding balance of the same amount.