From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Aggrieved lecturers of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State have dragged the university to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in the Benin Judicial Division, for owing them 27 months salaries.
The aggrieved staff are Prof. Fredrick Ikechukwu Esumeh, Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen, and Dr. Zebedee Udo Mamudu of the Departments of Microbiology, Philosophy and Economics, respectively.
They have approached the court through Kingsley Obamogie, SAN, to seek, amongst others, “a declaration that the failure and/or neglect of the Defendant (Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma) to pay the Claimant’s salaries and allowances since January 1, 2022 till date is wrongful, inhuman and a breach of the subsisting contract of service between the parties.”
They prayed the court to grant an order directing the defendant to restore payment of their salaries and “to pay all their outstanding salaries and allowances from the 1st day of January, 2022 till date of judgment” in their respective lawsuits.
These were contained in separate Suit Nos: NICN/BEN/15/2024; NICN/BEN/16/2024; and NICN/BEN/17/2024, wherein Prof. Fredrick Ikechukwu Esumeh, Dr. Zebedee Udo Mamudu and Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen are claimants in the respective Suit Nos and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, as defendants.
In their separate suits, they are also demanding the payment of “the sum of N10, 000,000.00 (ten million naira) general damages for the grave pain, inconvenience and hardship suffered by them (the claimants) as a result of the refusal and/or failure of defendant to discharge its contractual duty to claimant.”
No date has been fixed for hearing of the suits pending before Justice A.A. Adewemimo of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting at No.4, Okada Avenue, Old Edo Hotel, G.R.A, Benin City, Edo State.