Maha Christopher
The National Industrial Court in Lagos has ordered a commercial bank to withdraw the dismissal of a former employee, Tajudeen Balogun, and awarded him N5.5 million in damages after finding that his employment was wrongfully terminated.
According to The Punch, Justice Maureen Esowe ruled that the bank failed to follow its disciplinary procedures and denied the claimant fair hearing before dismissing him over discrepancies linked to his academic records.
The court awarded N5 million as general damages and an additional N500,000 as litigation costs.
The dispute arose after the bank terminated Balogun’s employment in November 2005 following a verification exercise involving his academic credentials.
Court records showed that the bank had sought confirmation of the claimant’s academic records from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, which allegedly provided information indicating that he graduated with a Third Class degree rather than the Second Class Lower degree reflected on the certificate he submitted during recruitment.
The conflicting information reportedly led the bank to conclude that the certificate was forged and subsequently dismiss him.
However, Balogun maintained that he was never informed of any allegation of certificate forgery and was not given an opportunity to defend himself before the decision was taken.
The court heard that the claimant only became aware of the circumstances surrounding his dismissal years later when he discovered correspondence exchanged between the bank and the university.
Evidence presented before the court showed that the university later admitted the information supplied to the bank was incorrect and subsequently clarified that Balogun had graduated with a Second Class degree.
In her judgment, Justice Esowe held that academic records are sensitive documents capable of affecting an individual’s career and reputation and must be handled with care.
The judge further held that the bank’s failure to notify the claimant of the allegations against him and allow him to respond amounted to a breach of its own staff handbook and a denial of fair hearing.
The court rejected the bank’s argument that the dismissal was based solely on an alleged excess payment transaction, holding that there was a clear connection between the information supplied by the university and the decision to terminate the claimant’s employment.
Justice Esowe noted that the wrongful dismissal not only cost Balogun his job but also affected his chances of securing alternative employment.
The case, which was initially filed at the Federal High Court in 2012 before being transferred to the National Industrial Court, was decided in favour of the claimant after years of legal proceedings.
