Okwara Agwu & Ors V. Julius Berger (Nig) Plc (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

JOSEPH TINE TUR, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

Hon. Justice HUSSEIN MUKTAR J., of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, delivered a ruling on 30-05-2001 against which the plaintiffs and the defendants aggrieved, filed separate appeals before the Court of Appeal Abuja. Each appeal contained seven grounds of appeal.

They bore the numbers CA/A/22/2002 and CA/A/37/2001 respectively.

Due to congestion the appeals were transferred to the Court of Appeal Kaduna Division and with leave of this court, renumbered as CA/A/250/2003 (plaintiffs) and CA/A/260/2003 (defendants) respectively.

The facts are that the plaintiffs/appellants are employees of Julius Berger (Nig) Plc. They were declared redundant and paid their entitlements which they collected on or about the 2nd and 3rd July, 1999. But aggrieved with the declaration of redundancy, page 1-2 of the supplementary records filed before this Court on 19-06 -2007 in Appeal number CA/A/260/2003 shows that they obtained exparte leave to sue the Defendant/Appellant, namely, their employer, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.The named plaintiffs/appellants instituted the substantive suit on 01-07-1999. They were (1) Okwara Agwu (2) Innocent Obinna (3) Charles Onumara (4) Oparaocha Luiz Garba (5)

Obiakor Edwin (6) Ekeh Spear. The writ of Summons shows the named plaintiffs as “suing for themselves and on behalf of all Julius Berger (Nig) Plc Workers affected by the purported redundancy as contained in Julius Berger (Nig) plc circular of June 28th, 1999.”

The plaintiffs/appellants claimed the following reliefs against Julius Berger (Nig) Plc:

“(a) AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, their agents, servants, privies howsoever described from forcefully ejecting the plaintiffs and members of their families from any of their official quarters/residence.

(b) AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, their agents, servants, privies howsoever described from declaring any of the plaintiff redundant without first of alt following the due process of the law as stipulated in the various Acts and also the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

(c) AN ORDER compelling the defendant company to pay to the plaintiff the sum of Ten Million (N10,000,000,00) only being the cost of hiring the service of a solicitor to pursue this matter consequent upon the threat to illegally declare the defendants redundant and to illegally force them out of their residence/official quarters.”

On 01-07 -1999 the learned counsel appearing for the named and unnamed plaintiffs also filed an application supported by the affidavit of Moses Onyilokwu, a Legal Assistant in the chambers of God’s People’s Freedom Legal Consult praying for the following interlocutory reliefs against Julius Berger (Nig) Plc:

“(a) An interlocutory order restraining the Defendant/Respondent, either by themselves, servants, agents, privies, assigns howsoever described from unlawfully ejecting or in any other way interfering with the quite possession, occupation and use of plaintiff/applicants’ official quarters located in the Federal Capital Territory and suleja pending the final determination of the Substantive Suit before this Honourable Court.

(b) An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendant, their agents, servants and/or any person howsoever described from unlawfully declaring any of the Plaintiff/Applicants redundant pending the final determination of the substantive suit before this Honourable Court.

(c) An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendant, its servants, agents, privies howsoever described from interfering with any of the rights and privileges due to the plaintiff/applicants us workers/servants of the defendant company pending the final determination of the substantive’ suit pending before this Honourable Court.