Court adjourns N86.9m unpaid salaries suit in Kwara

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Akure, Ondo state has adjourned till October 15 for continued hearing, a case of N86.9 million unpaid salaries and entitlements filed by 56 revenue advisers in Kwara state.

Justice Abiola Adewemimo, a judge in industrial court adjourned the case on Tuesday during a sitting in the case between Ishola Oladimeji and 55 others as claimants, and Dr. Abdulwahab Ibrahim, Dr. Abdulwahab Ibrahim, Oluwafadekemi Ajao, Mudasiru Akintola and Firmus Integrated Resources.

Counsel to all claimants, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), after calling his second witness, Hassan Olanrewaju, a banker, however, asked for an adjournment due to the need to call additional witnesses on the matter.

Counsels to the first, second and third defendants, Olalekan Yusuf and Bisi Atolagbe respectively, did not object to the application for an adjournment by the claimants’ counsel.

Akinlaja explained that the court had slated two days for the hearing, but the claimants decided to call more witnesses, adding that “as it is now, the case has been adjourned till Oct. 15 for continuation of hearing, because we had some exigencies, that is, we need to call additional witnesses on the matter.”

The claimants, Ishola Olagunju, Aliu Usman and Abraham Olagunju were suing on behalf of 53 other staff of Firmus Integrated Resources for N86.9 million as their unpaid emoluments and salaries from 2015 to October 2018.

The defendants, Dr. Abdulwahab Ibrahim, Oluwafadekemi Ajao, and Mudasiru Akintola, were carrying on business under the name of Firmus Integrated Resources and acting as cronies for the Kwara state Internal Revenue Service.

However, the agreement between the company and state government was terminated in 2009 while a new name and style of Firmus System International Company took up the revenue business on behalf of the state government.

Akinlaja said the claimants were inherited as staff of the company with the letter of appointment issued to them by the company in 2009, declaring that all efforts to get the company to pay the entitlements and salaries were spurned by the defendants.

According to the claimants, information available to them indicates that the defendants were acting in concert with some unknown cronies in collaboration with the state government and the Kwara state Internal Revenue Service.

The demands of the claimants include an order commanding the defendants to pay the salaries and entitlements due to them from November 1, 2018 till the expiry of their employment in December 2019 or till lawful termination of the claimants’ employment.

Also, the claimants are demanding 10 per cent interest per annum on the judgment sum from the date of judgment until it is fully liquidated.

Their demands include an order commanding the defendants to issue a letter of official disengagement or approved retirement letter from the firm (Firmus Integrated Resources) to each of the 56 claimants.

It also added that the letter must be at the time of lawful termination of their employments or at the expiry of their terms in December 2019 to enable the claimants access their pension remittances.