A national industrial court in Akure has ordered the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, capital of the state, to reinstate 85 non-teaching staff sacked by the institution in December 2019.
Mary Fajembola and 84 others had sued the university, its vice-chancellor and the governing council on February 27, 2020, claiming that their appointments were terminated on December 5, 2019, without any offence.
I. O Ayenakin, counsel to the claimants, told the court that his clients were neither queried nor made to face any disciplinary panel prior to their disengagement.
In their defence, the defendants through their lawyer, Oluwatosin Olanipekun, said the university sacked the claimants because it could no longer cope with staff’s “humongous wage bill”.
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Olanipekun also said that sack was in compliance with the governing regulations and the provisions for termination of employment.
However, in the judgment delivered on January 28, 2021, Kiyersohot Damulak, the judge, voided the sack of the claimants.
He ordered the university reinstate the workers and pay their salaries, emoluments, and allowances from the date of their unlawful disengagement till date within 30 days.
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The judge also directed the university to pay the workers the three months salary they were being owed before their unlawful disengagement.
Also, the university is to pay N50,000 to each complainant as the cost of prosecution.
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