OAFZA Manager’s suspension saga: 12 years after, Funmi Omosule gets justice

After a long, tortuous wait, relief and justice eventually came the way of Mr. Olufunmilayo David Omosule, a Manager with the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OAFZA), who was suspended from Office since April 18, 2011, as Hon. Justice Olufunke. Y. Anuwe of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, (NIC), sitting in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, quashed the suspension and ordered the Agency to recall and reinstate him immediately.

Mr. Omosule was suspended by the Management of the Authority by a letter dated April 18, 2011 over an alleged failure to submit the originals of his credentials for vetting during a promotion exercise. A claim he denied, countering that he ran into trouble waters with the Management over his role in an alleged misappropriation of a one hundred million generator set fund.

While Mr. Omosule insisted that he duly submitted the Certified True Copies (CTC) of his credentials since he had misplaced the original copies, but the Agency still claimed not to have the documents.

The matter dragged forth and back, without any headway until 2016, when Mr Omosule approached the National Industrial Court for legal resolution. The police was eventually involved which has resulted into a criminal matter of forgery, involving two senior staff of the Authority at the magistrate Court, Abuja.

In her ruling, Hon. Justice Olufunke Anuwe of the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja, FCT, quashed the suspension of Mr. Omosule saying the continued application of the said letter of suspension of over twelve years to suspend the Mr. Omosule is oppressive, unjustifiable, null and void and of no effect.

The Court also decried as unjust and unfair, the stoppage of the Mr. Omosule’s salaries and allowances on the basis of the said letter since April 2011.

The Court therefore, ruled that the Management of the Authority should compute and pay the Mr. Omosule his salaries and allowances from April 2011 till the date of execution of the judgment.

The Court held that “suspension is not amount to termination of employment. An employee on suspension is nonetheless an employee until terminated. The Claimant therefore remains the employee of the Agency all the while on suspension”.

“The Claimant has been on suspension for a period of over twelve years. He was neither recalled or terminated. The period is rather too long to keep the Claimant on suspension. The defendant kept the claimant on suspension for 12 years without taking a decision on the employment of the Claimant, thereby putting the claimant on apprehension of his fate and status of his employment. He lives day by day in anticipation, not knowing whether he will be recalled or will be terminated. I hold that the continued suspension of the claimant from April 2011 till date is wrongful, oppressive, unjust and unfair. For this reason, I will set aside the suspension of the Claimant and order the Defendant to recall the Claimant with effect from the date of this judgment”, the Court ruled.

The Court however, declined Mr. Omosule’s plea that he be placed on Grade Level 17, or the position and grade level which his colleagues who were Managers like him in April 2011 are currently occupying in the employment of the Authority.

Hon. Justice Anuwo declared that his promotion depended on the verification of his credentials which have not been done till date. “The issues with the Claimant’s credentials is still unresolved by the Defendant. The duty is exclusively for the Defendant, and not the duty of this Court”, she declared.

The Court held further that “From the facts, the Claimant did not present the originals of his certificates for verification, because according to him, they were lost, and the Defendant has not verified or certified him cleared on the CTC’s he allegedly submitted. It was for the reason that he failed to present the originals of his certificates he was suspended. It is therefore, clear to me that promotion of the Claimant depend on the verification of his credentials, which has not been still now”.

She therefore ordered the management of the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone to immediately reinstate him within thirty days of delivering the judgment. The Court also ordered the Authority to pay Mr. Omosule a sum of five hundred thousand naira as costs.