Federal Road Safety Commission V. Emmanuel Olatubosun Orunmuyi (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

JAMES SHEHU ABIRIYI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment delivered on 17th October, 2007 in Federal High Court sitting at Osogbo, Osun State. The Appellant was the Defendant at the Lower Court. The Respondent was the plaintiff.

The claim of the Respondent at the lower Court was for the following:

1. A declaration that the termination of the plaintiff’s employment is ultra vires, unfair, unjust, wrongful, in breach of his constitutional right of fair hearing bearing the rules of natural justice and pro tanto a nullity.
2. An order re-instating the plaintiff to his employment and paying him all his entitlements and due promotions from the date of the illegal termination.

The facts of the case are short. According to the Respondent, he was employed on the 8th August 1994 as a Road Marshal by the Appellant. He was promoted once.

On 21st September, 2005 he led a team to Ilesa – Osogbo highway. At about 5.30pm, he told the driver of their vehicle to follow a motorcyclist to the police station and terminated the patrol for that day.

While they were staying around the patrol vehicle, a surveillance team arrived.

After their usual formality of searching each other, the search of the vehicle indicated there was something unusual hidden in a part of the vehicle which could not be removed until the following day when a panel beater was called. That thing turned out to be N200 (two hundred naira) in various denominations.

A panel was constituted to try the members of the team. The panel sat for two days and on the third day pronounced the Respondent guilty and his appointment was terminated for corrupt practice.

It was on the basis of the report of the panel sent to the headquarters that he was given the letter of termination.

The defence witness said he discovered a small hole in the frame of the vehicle. He put his finger inside and felt a ramp inside the hole. He asked the Respondent what he put inside that hole and the Respondent said that he put nothing in there.

They could not remove the thing inside the hole.

When the panel beater opened up the area and they saw the N200 (two hundred naira) in the various denominations, he reported to the Sector Commander.

The lower Court entered judgment in favour of the Respondent.

It is against this judgment that the Appellant has appealed. On 2nd June 2008, the Appellant filed an initial notice of appeal containing six grounds of appeal. On 6th June, 2008, the Appellant filed another notice of appeal containing seven grounds of appeal. The Appellant filed a 2nd Further Amended Notice of Appeal on 11/4/2013 in this Court which was deemed duty filed and served on 17th September 2014. The Further Amended Notice of Appeal contains eight (8) grounds of appeal from which the Appellant presented the following five (5) issues for determination: