Hon. Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi of the National Industrial Court, Abuja, has upheld the termination of employment of a former Deputy Manager of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Bitrus Garba, by the financial institution.
The court declared the allegation of wrongful termination of employment filed by Garba against First Bank of Nigeria Ltd as “unmeritorious.”
The judgment was disclosed in a statement on the official website of the court on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
According to the court, Garba had contended that his dismissal contravened international best practices, noting that it was no longer binding on him to pay back any loan he secured while with the financial institution.
The court stated,
The claimant also contended that the loan he obtained from the bank should have been liquidated by the bank’s Insurers but his account with the bank was wrongfully debited.
In opposition, the legal team of the First Bank was quoted as saying that the disengagement of the claimant was based on the terms and conditions of his employment.
Delivering judgment, Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi held that in a written or documented contract of service, the court should not and will not look outside the terms stipulated or agreed therein in deciding the rights and obligations of the parties.
The court also held that the contract between the parties “was validly and mutually determined in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed in the contract of employment, and Mr. Garba has not proved by credible evidence the claim for the refund of the sum of N416,390 allegedly deducted from his account.”
Subsequently, the court ordered Mr. Garba to pay First Bank of Nigeria Ltd N3,445,833.22 being the outstanding balance of loans collected while in service.