Onyemaechi Nwaosu & Ors V. Hfp Engineering Nigeria Limited (2014)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

SAMUEL CHUKWUDUMEBI OSEJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the Ruling of the High Court of Lagos State delivered by J. O. Pedro J. On the 26th September 2007, wherein the claimants suit No LD/2690/96 was struck out because the claim as constituted could not be heard in a Representative capacity.

The appellants herein had as Plaintiffs in the Lower Court filed a writ of summons and statement of claim dated 27th August 1996 wherein they sought the following reliefs against the defendant. (now Respondent).

(i) A DECLARATION that the purported dismissal of the plaintiffs by the defendant as published in the Daily Times of 8/2/96 constitutes a flagrant violation of the plaintiffs right to fair hearing guaranteed under S. 33(1) of the 1979 constitution, Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights. (Ratification and Enforcement) act, Cap 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and customary international law and is therefore, unfair, wrongful, unlawful, null and void.

(ii) A DECLARATION that the purported dismissal being a disciplinary measure, having regard to its antecedents and surrounding circumstances was wrongful, unlawful, and void in that the plaintiffs were neither warned nor notified of the reasons thereof.

(iii) A DECLARATION that the defendant was not competent to terminate the plaintiffs’ employment for a crime cognisable under the criminal code before trial of the plaintiffs by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(iv) AN ORDER quashing the purported termination of the plaintiffs’ employment by the defendant as contained in the Daily Times publication dated 8/2/96.

(v) A DECLARATION that the plaintiffs are still workers of the defendant company.

ALTERNATIVELY:

AN ORDER compelling the defendant to reinstate the plaintiffs to their position in the company without prejudice to salaries allowances promotion and other entitlements which might have accrued to them during the period of the purported determination of their employment.

(vi) A PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant, its agent or privies from further interfering with the plaintiffs’ employment with the company except by a lawful procedure.

(vii) AN AWARD of the sum of N500,000.00 to each of the plaintiffs as damages for the violation of all their rights aforementioned.

Briefly put, the appellants herein who are about 248 in number are members of staff of the Respondent. Sometimes in January 1996 they discovered that there was a shortfall in the salaries of the junior staff.

They sought to get an explanation for the anomaly from the management but to no avail, hence they agreed to and infact embarked on a demonstration in the Respondent’s premises. The Respondent reacted by inviting the police to restore order. The presence of the police however resulted in violence which eventually led to destruction of the Respondent’s property. The appellants were thereafter barred from entering the Respondent’s premises. On the 8-2-96 the Respondent published a notice in some of the Daily Newspapers to the effect that all the affected employees have been dismissed from the service of the Respondent. All subsequent efforts by the employees to reach an amicable solution did not yield any positive result. Hence they filed an action in the Lower Court on 27-8-96 seeking the reliefs as earlier reproduced. The original plaintiffs are three, viz:- Onyemaechi Nwosu, Ojomu Lawal and Emmanuel Onwuka suing for themselves and on behalf of the 248 other employees of HFP Engineering (Nig) Ltd.