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It seems that the more things change in Nigeria, the worse they get. This is a case of crass injustice meted out to 17 Nigerians, who were sacked by the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), a company incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to carry out certain businesses in its name. At formation, some employees of the NCC were moved from NCC to DBI as foundation staff of DBI, which head office is in Abuja. Things however changed for them as these workers watched as their counterparts at NCC enjoy enhanced and improved service conditions. Their humble request to DBI management to make what was good for the goose to also be good for the gander fell on deaf ear.
These Nigerians, initially 51 in all, took further steps to seek improvement in their conditions of service, including promotions as some had stagnated on same rank for more than 10 years. Rather than engage the aggrieved workers and seek a solution, management of the institute threatened punitive action against them for embarrassing it with the demand which got as far as office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Following the threat, 33 of the workers withdrew from agitating for their rights leaving 17 to continue with the quest.
The remaining 17 approached the Industrial Court to seek interpretation of their rights as staff of DBI. In response, management of the institute greeted them with a new staff guideline and code which the agitators declined to sign. This refusal was greeted with some punitive actions including transfers out of Abuja. They accepted the punitive transfers, but kept fighting.
Judgment of the Industrial Court was given on July 18, 2018. In essence, the court held that “all the claimants are entitled to all rights, privileges, emoluments, salaries and all perquisites of office arising from or pertaining to the staff condition of service warranted by DBI to be applicable to the claimants, at the time of appointment”. Consequence of the order was to the effect that the agitators were entitled to their rights as workers of NCC at DBI and must be treated as such.
Though the judgment was enrolled and served on NCC and DBI, defendants in the suit, the agitators were in March 2019, served with letters of termination of appointment signed by the Head, Human Resources at DBI. This is in spite of the judgment of the Industrial Court which affirmed their rights as workers of DBI, and by extension, the parent company, NCC. Following the termination of appointments, the 17 workers approached Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) with a petition dated March 25, 2019 in which they narrated sequentially, what had transpired between them and their employer and how they were sacked in spite of a subsisting order or court.
The petition ended with a request on the SGF for “reinstatement of employment; regularization of grade levels, promotions and proper placement of staff as many of us have remained on same grade level over 10 years; compel the Nigerian Communications Commission through the Digital Bridge Institute to compute and pay all outstanding and differentials of entitlements including salaries, allowances and other employment benefits accruing to the affected staff from 2006 to date in accordance with the Staff Conditions of Service of the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Nigerians Communications Salary Scale and staff remuneration policy”.
The letter signed by Ahamefuna Agbo on behalf of the 17 DBI staff, got the nod of the SGF, who in a letter dated September 13, 2019 with reference number 58541/S.9/1, signed by Emmanuel Akissa, legal adviser in the office of the SGF, directed NCC to effect immediate recall of all the sacked workers and reinstate them to their present ranks.
The letter which was addressed to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC was copied to the Minister of Communications for “necessary action”. It reads: “I am directed to inform you that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation after a careful study of the judgment of the National Industrial Court, the advice of the Hon. Minister of Communications and the submissions of the Digital Bridge Institute on this issue has directed as follows:
“That the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Digital Bridge Institute should immediately reverse the termination of the employment of the affected staff. (2) That the Nigerian Communications Commission and Digital Bridge Institute should regularize issues pertaining the proper placement, upgrade and promotion of the affected staff. (3) That no staff should lose his job or be victimized as a result of this case and (4), that the Digital Bridge Institute should report compliance with the above directives to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation”.
Sadly, neither NCC nor DBI has taken any steps to give effect to the directive of the SGF. Vexed by this development, Chief Awa Kalu (SAN), counsel to the workers, who are now judgment creditors, in a letter dated November 4, 2019, warned the judgment debtors of the consequences of disobeying orders of court and ignoring the directive of the government of the federation. “It is with regret that I convey my impression that you are unwilling to comply with either the judgment of the National Industrial Court, nor the directives emanating from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation”, Kalu (SAN) wrote to NCC and DBI. He further reminded them that power is ephemeral saying: “you may be disobedient and obdurate in your cocoon of power, but power has always been ephemeral and you may wish to think about the position you hold presently and submit yourself to the rule of law, because the law will always be the law”.
Awa Kalu’s letter became necessary after he observed that despite a mutually-signed written agreement between his office and DBI, represented by Wilfred O. Akenuwa on the resolution of the matter, including a discontinuation of a contempt proceeding against DBI at the Industrial Court upon implementation of the directives of the SGF, the institute and NCC were still unwilling to obey the order of court, a habit that has become a signature of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
As it is, the 17 workers, Ahamefuna Agbo, Shehu Olaitan, Mustapha muhammed, Taiwo Adeyemi, Amaechi Onuoha, Eloho Ogbiede, Binta Ngubdo, Reginals Iregbu, Fiyinfoluwa Afolyayan, Ogundele Thomas, Kayode Adewole, Umar Fika, Sandar Ugese, Charles Aneke, Amina Ibrahim, Deborah Akiri and Samuel Olanrewaju, live with the psychological trauma of watching their families face a bleak future because they asked for their rights. They may be looking at 2020 wondering how to send their children back to school as they are now victimized by organizations which ought to be leading lights in responsible corporate citizenship.
