Posted by The indefinite suspension imposed by the state government on Dr. Cletus Nwakpu, the coordinator of the World Bank-assisted FADAMA III project in Ebonyi State, has been overturned by the National Industrial Court.
Nwakpu, a Civil Servant, had supervised the state’s implementation of the FADAMA projects funded by the World Bank.
However, on July 14, 2020, the state administration, led by former David Umahi, suspended him without pay due to accusations of corruption and fund misappropriation.
As the State Coordinator, Nwakpu had initiated the execution of the World Bank-Ebonyi State Government Subsidiary Credit Agreement on the Fadama III Project Implementation.
In 2019, he found evidence of an alleged scheme by some project officers to falsify documents and signatures in order to cheat the Ebonyi State Fadama III Project of N2,750,000, when the project’s account was only holding N3 million.
Nwakpu had reported the incident to the police, who, following an investigation, charged all parties involved with crimes and placed Nwakpu on indefinite leave from the project.
On December 3, 2020, the Ebonyi State Government transferred prosecutor Ndubisi Ogbuinya from the Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice Abakaliki to the Ohaozara Judicial Division following Mr. Nwakpu’s indefinite suspension.
Additionally, on December 10, 2020, Ogbuniaya’s absence from court resulted in the dismissal of the case against the two defendants at Abakaliki Magistrate Court II.
Former Governor Dave Umahi made several promises that Nwakpu’s indefinite suspension would be lifted, but these statements were never fulfilled. Nwakpu felt that he had been wrongfully wronged and shamed out of office through illegal political maneuvering, so he went to court to seek justice.
He thus filed a lawsuit against the Ebonyi State Government and the other six conspirators on January 11, 2022.
Among them are the Ebonyi State Fiscal Responsibility Commission, the Ebonyi State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Ijeoma Orji-Uzo, the Commission’s secretary at the time, Emeka Nwode, the Ebonyi State EXCO investigative committee’s chairman and his secretary, Barr. Samuel Okoronkwo, and Mr. Augustine Njoku of Kudos Ventures, the input provider at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria Abakaliki.
In his petition, Dr. Nwakpu asked the court to award him fourteen reliefs, such as the removal of the unlawfully imposed indefinite suspension, his reinstatement as the Fadama Coordinator, and the reimbursement of his unpaid wage arrears from July 2020 to July 2023.
Additionally, he begged the defendants to give him N500 million in damages for the egregious breach of his rights as a senior, verified public and civil servant who was the victim of an unlawful and intentional suspension.
He claimed that the firing and the media’s coverage of it subjected him to severe financial and psychological abuse, character assassination, lost career chances, harassment, and public humiliation.
In his ruling on Friday in Enugu regarding suit number. NICN/ABK/08/2022, Judge Oluwakayode Arowosegbe stated that the State Government had infringed upon the Claimant’s entitlement to a fair hearing.
He further ruled that the accused had not provided any evidence to support the aforementioned indefinite suspension imposed on Mr. Nwakpu.
He ruled that the claimant’s extended suspension amounted to constructive dismissal because there was no legitimate or reasonable basis for doing so.
The claimant was suspended by the state government for more than three years for an alleged criminal offense, but no legal action was taken against him by the judge.
He stated that the claimant should not have been suspended or fired by the state government without pay without first filing a lawsuit to substantiate the claims made against him.
Justice Arowosegbe further asserted that trying or judging an employee for an alleged criminal offense is not the responsibility of the state government or any of its institutions.
As a result, the court ruled that Mr. Nwakpu’s suspension was illegal, void, and unimportant.
It ruled that all acts taken by the State Governor, the Ebonyi State Executive Council, the Ebonyi State Fiscal Responsibility Commission, and the State Head of Service that were intended to suspend or fire Mr. Nwakpu were void, illegal, and had no bearing.
The claimant’s withheld earnings up to this point must be paid, per the judge’s directive to the state government.
In addition, he gave the claimant N5 million in damages and compensation in addition to N500,000 for legal fees.
Jeremiah Ezenyi, the claimant’s attorney, stated that the ruling will improve labor relations and government in the nation.
“This ruling is excellent because it will educate the government and workers alike about the proper process for firing an employee—you don’t just wake up and fire them,” he stated.