Lagos court orders Total E & P to pay disengaged staff N50m

The National Industrial Court, Lagos Division has mandated Total E&P Nigeria formerly known as Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited to compensate disengaged security guards with N50,000,000 as aggravated damages.

Justice Elizabeth Oji, a professor of Law, delivered the judgment, emphasizing that the awarded sum was intended to address the psychological and mental trauma inflicted upon the unfairly terminated security guards.

He strongly criticized Total E&P Nig. for its callous and insensitive actions, deeming the company’s refusal to issue employment letters to the claimants over their 15 years of service as a breach of the Labour Act.

The court gave the company a 30-day ultimatum to comply with the order, failure to do so will result in the N50,000,000 damages incurring a 20 percent interest.

Meanwhile, the disengaged security guards, represented by Odah Ezekiel Ogah, Adefemi Eyitayo Moses, Ogwuche Abraham, and Charles Okwori, filed a suit accusing the oil company of unfair labor practices.

They argued that the unilateral transfer of their employment to different companies without consent and the prolonged denial of employment letters were illegal and a violation of the Labour Act.

They also prayed for “a declaration that the refusal and neglect by the 1st defendant to issue letters of employment to the claimants despite repeated demands for same by the claimants without success is illegal, unlawful, unfair labor practice, a breach of international best practices and therefore, a violation of Section 7 of the Labour Act and liable under section 21 of the same Act.

“A declaration that the conspiracy among the defendants to enslave, neglect or ill-treat the claimants under a clandestine working condition for so many years for the 1st defendant without any terminal benefit entitlement paid to them is wicked, unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unfair labor practice and breach of international best practices and therefore an arrogant breach of Section 46 (1) of Labour Act and liable under the same section.”

Total E&P Nig. defended itself by claiming it was not the employer, pointing to the 2nd to 6th defendants as responsible.

However, Justice Orji ruled that the continued refusal to pay terminal benefits to the claimants after their abrupt dismissal in 2014 and 2015 constituted illegal, unfair labor practices and international best practices and deemed it unconstitutional, null, and void.