Claimant’s lawyer alleges delay tactics as FUTH Owerri dragged to court by ex-employee over “unlawful sack”
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital has adjourned to March 28, 2025 to enable the defendants -Chief Medical Director of the Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri and three others – to file their defense in the case of unlawful termination of appointment brought before it by Mr Joachim Egerue (claimant) in Suit No. NICN/OW/32/2024 against the tertiary hospital.
The three other defendants in the matter, apart from the chief medical director, include the Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri, the Honourable Minister of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health.
The Honourable Justice N. C Ogbuanya who presided over the matter asked the defense counsel to file their defence in the case before the court .
Justice Ogbuanya who adjourned further hearing to March 28, frowned at the preliminary objection by the defense counsel on the grounds that the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri cannot be sued as it has no “juristic personality”, including the assertion that the court also does not have the powers to grant “declaratory reliefs”.
The Judge had described the preliminary objection as a “lack of intellectual diligence” and instructed the defense counsel to file his defense on the case on the next adjourned date and not to waste the time of the court.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the matter was adjourned to March 28, counsel to the claimant, Dr Christian Nwadigo said the counsel to the defendants, Nnamdi F. Ninis rather than file their defense to enable the hearing of the matter to proceed, filed a preliminary objection on grounds that “Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri has no “juristic personality to be sued” because it has not been gazetted,” among other reasons.
Nwadigo said the action of the defendants amounted to resorting to technicalities in order to”buy time,” instead of filling their defence, saying that the defendants had been served since 2024, explaining that the court adjourned to March 28, to enable the defendants to file their substantive defence.
Giving a background to the matter, Nwadigo disclosed that it emanated from the termination of the appointment of Mr Egerue by the Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri, based on an “audit report of Dental Stores of December 2020, conducted by the 2nd defendant, the Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri, on the instructions of the 1st Defendant, Dr Kingsley Achigbu Ihedioha (Chief Medical Director) in the absence of the claimant Joachim Egerue, and without notifying him, without inviting him.”
He stated that the action of the defendants amounted to a violation of the claimant’s constitutional rights to fair hearing as enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, amid relevant circulars of the Ministry Of Health.
He disclosed that his client, Egerue is praying the court to, among other things, “declare as unlawful, wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional, the 2nd Defendant, Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri’s purported letter of termination dated 01/07/2021 issued to the claimant, Joachim Egerue on the instruction of the 1st Defendant, Dr Kingsley Achigbu Ihedioha (Chief Medical Director)…and ” an order directing the defendants jointly and severally to reinstate the claimant, Joachim Egerue, to his position with attendant arrears of promotions and payment of arrears of salaries, allowances, emoluments and benefits because his employment has statutory flavour or in the alternative, to pay Claimant compensation in the sum of N250 m (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira).
The Claimant is also praying this Honourable court for an order directing the defendants jointly and severally to pay the Claimant, Joachim Egerue arrears of salaries, allowances, emoluments, benefits in the sum of One Hundred Million Naira to be computed form March, 2021 till judgment is delivered and thereafter until the judgment sum is fully liquidated.
He is also praying the Honourable court for an order directing the defendants jointly and severally to pay to the Claimant, Joachim, Egerue the sum of N250m (Two Hundred and fifty Million Naira) for unlawful and arbitrary termination of his appointment.
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