From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The National Industrial Court has fixed April 4 for the Head of Service, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation and other defendants to open their defences in the case of alleged corrupt practices filed against them.
Other defendants listed in the suit are the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Attorney General of the Federation and the Accountant General of the Federation.
A senior staff of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mrs Bilkisu Okene Sannusi, had, in a suit against the defendants, alleged abuse of governmental powers to illegally and unlawfully withhold her salaries and entitlement for daring to expose alleged corrupt practices being perpetuated in the Budget office of the Federation.
Mrs Sannusi, the claimant in the suit marked NICN/ABJ/ 96/22, who was led in evidence by her counsel, Martin Opara, and cross examined by the Director, Legal, Budget Office, Mrs M. D Agada, representing the second and third Defendants, and Aliyu Abdulkadir, representing the Attorney General of the Federation, closed her case yesterday, and the trial Judge, Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi, adjourned till April 4 for the defendants to open their defence in the matter.
The claimant had, in her statements of fact, alleged that her salaries and other entitlements were stopped by the defendants when she discovered monumental corrupt practices by some staff of the Ministry of Finance (third Defendant) in the office of the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation (second Defendant).
The claimant said the issue led to the removal of her name from payment vouchers and other efforts to frustrate her, alleging further that the second defendant, also, without any justification caused her Secret and Open Files domiciled with the Budget Office of the Federation Registry to be removed and kept in an unknown place, to frustrate her from proceeding on her retirement.
The claimant has also alleged in her statement that the second defendant, in a bid to frustrate her, also instructed his allies in the finance department, to withhold and deny her due financial and maternal benefits and rights incidental to her employment and office in the Budget Office of the Federation.
She wants the court to declare that the termination of her salaries and entitlements prior and from November 26, 2021 till date, by the first, second, third and fifth defendants is illegal, unlawful and a gross abuse of governmental powers and, as such, null and void and of no effect.
“That with-holding of the Claimant’s Secret and Open Files and fringe benefits, bonuses and Christmas, Easter and Sallah gifts and all other benefits, howsoever, called incidental to her position as a staff of the Budget Office of the Federation by the second defendant first is illegal, unlawful and a gross abuse of governmental powers and, as such, null and void and of no effect.
“That the first defendant lacks the power to impose punishment or suspension of salary on the claimant, safe as stipulated by the Public Service Rule, which rule must be adhered to as expressly stipulated, as doing otherwise amounts to a nullity.
She also seeks an order of court compelling the defendants to pay her all her salaries, entitlements, fringe benefits, bonuses and all benefits, however, called incidental to her position as a staff of the Budget Office of the Federation, amounting to N214, 250, 000 only, withheld by the defendants illegally and unlawfully.
The claimant also wants the court to compel the second defendant to, forthwith, release her Secret and Open File, to enable her proceed with the processing of her retirement. She wants her to award the sum of N500 million only as exemplary damages in her favour against the defendants and another N50 million for the inconveniences which the defendants made her suffer.