THE National Industrial Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by a former Deputy Director of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Yisa Usman, challenging his dismissal from the examination body.
News Point Nigeria reports that in a judgment delivered on June 2, the presiding judge, Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, held that Usman’s dismissal was lawful and carried out in accordance with the provisions of JAMB’s staff manual.
Usman was dismissed from JAMB in July 2023 following ministerial approval of the report of a disciplinary committee established to investigate allegations concerning his conduct while serving as a Deputy Director in the agency.
The former official had maintained that his removal from service was the result of victimisation and witch-hunting after he submitted whistleblowing petitions alleging misconduct and corruption within the examination body.
Consequently, in September 2023, Usman approached the National Industrial Court, seeking declarations that his dismissal was unlawful and unconstitutional. He also asked the court to order his reinstatement with full entitlements, benefits and privileges attached to his office.
Usman argued that he was denied fair hearing by the disciplinary committee that recommended his dismissal. He further contended that two members of the committee were subjects of petitions he had submitted to anti-corruption agencies, raising concerns about the fairness of the disciplinary process.
However, JAMB, through its counsel, urged the court to dismiss the suit, insisting that investigations conducted by various government and security agencies into the allegations contained in Usman’s petitions had cleared the board’s management of wrongdoing.
The examination body argued that Usman could not be described as a whistleblower, characterising him instead as “a self-serving individual whose stock in trade is blackmail.”
JAMB further told the court that the queries issued to Usman arose from petitions written by him and his associates to the Federal Ministry of Education. According to the board, an investigative committee subsequently cleared its management and directed that disciplinary proceedings be commenced against him.
In the certified true copy of the judgment, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae held that the composition of the disciplinary committee complied with the federal character principle, noting that it had received the approval of the Minister of Education.
The court also found that the Registrar and Director of Finance, who were among those referenced by Usman, recused themselves from the disciplinary committee before proceedings commenced.
On the issue of fair hearing, the judge ruled that Usman was not denied the opportunity to defend himself. She noted that he responded to the queries issued to him and was invited to appear before the disciplinary committee.
According to the court, Usman chose not to attend the committee’s proceedings of his own volition.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae further held that the reasons contained in Usman’s dismissal letter were unrelated to his whistleblowing activities. She observed that the claimant himself acknowledged during proceedings that anti-graft agencies had investigated and cleared JAMB’s board of the allegations he raised.
“From the totality of the evidence adduced, I find that the misconduct of the claimant is grave and weighty. He wilfully disobeyed constituted authority,” the judge held.
“This has eroded and undermined the confidence reposed in him by the defendant to carry out his duties.
“This is the exact scenario that has played out in this case. The claimant has grown too big to obey the defendant his master and employer. The claimant behaved as if he was his own boss, accountable only to himself.”
The judge concluded that JAMB had sufficiently justified the grounds for the disciplinary action taken against the former deputy director.
“I am satisfied that the defendant has justified the reasons that necessitated the dismissal of the claimant from its service. I hold that the dismissal of the claimant was lawful and in compliance with the staff manual,” Justice Obaseki-Osaghae ruled.
The judgment effectively brings to an end Usman’s legal challenge against his dismissal, affirming JAMB’s position that due process was followed throughout the disciplinary proceedings that culminated in his removal from service.