Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board V. Mallam Umaru Garba & Ors (2002)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MOHAMMED, JSC.

The plaintiffs, who are the respondents in this appeal, are employees of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Kano. They were suspended from duty following an allegation of theft of some properties belonging to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Kano. The respondents were arrested and taken to a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kano. They were tried and discharged. Since then they were suspended from duty and placed on half salary. When their appeal for re-instatement on full salary was not granted they went to court and filed the following claim against Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board:

(a) A declaration that the plaintiffs are still employees of the defendant.

(b) An order compelling the defendant to re-instate the plaintiffs to their posts.

(1) N28,000.00 as arrears of salary and allowance due to the 1st plaintiff from the day of suspension till November 1992 and thereafter his full salary and allowance until he lawfully ceases to be the defendant’s employee.

(2) N36,000.00 as arrears of salary and allowance due to the 2nd plaintiff from the date of suspension till November, 1992 and thereafter his full salaries and allowances until he lawfully ceases to be employee of the defendant.

(3) N40,000.00 as arrears of salaries and allowance due to the 3rd plaintiff from the date of suspension till November, 1992 and thereafter his full salaries and allowances until he lawfully ceases to be the defendant employee.

(4) N26,000.00 as arrears of salaries and allowances due to the 4th plaintiff from the date of suspension to November, 1992 and thereafter his full salaries and allowances until he lawfully ceases to be employee of the defendant.

The defendant/appellant filed a counter-claim against the respondents and averred that by the totality of the conduct of the respondents, since 1986, they had rendered themselves liable to be dismissed from service. At the end of the trial the learned trial Judge granted the declarations which the respondents prayed for and ordered for their re-instatement. In addition the court ordered some amount of money to be paid to the respondents as special damages. The learned trial Judge dismissed the counter-claim.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal. Learned counsel for the appellant, before the Court of Appeal, identified the following issues for the determination of the appeal.

(a) Did the learned trial Judge properly evaluate the evidence before him before coming to the conclusion that the delay between the occurrence of the incident is 1986 and the commencement of disciplinary processes in 1992 was unjustified and therefore amounted to non-compliance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board Act

(b) Having regard to the entire circumstances of the case, was the learned trial Judge correct in his conclusion that the plaintiffs were not given fair hearing by the defendant before seeking to dismiss the plaintiff:

(c) Was there any or any sufficient evidence before the court to warrant the monetary awards made by the learned trial Judge in favour of the plaintiffs

(d) Was the court’s jurisdiction not ousted with respect to the 3rd plaintiff who had died before judgment was delivered in the case