Court Declares Ex-First Bank Deputy Manager’s Sack Wrongful, Awards Damages

The National Industrial Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State division, has declared the termination of the employment of former First Bank Deputy Manager, Mr. Joseph Simeon Akor, as wrongful, illegal and unlawful.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Z. M. Bashir, the court held that although First Bank had the contractual right to terminate Akor’s employment, but failed to comply with its own Staff Employee Handbook governing disciplinary procedures and suspension.

Akor, who joined the bank in 2005 and rose to the position of Deputy Manager and Resident Control Officer at the Makurdi Branch, challenged the termination of his appointment in December 2018 after he was linked to an alleged N35.8 million fraudulent transfer. 

Akor’s had argued that the allegation was never substantiated, yet he was suspended, paid only a fraction of his salary and eventually dismissed.

The bank maintained that Akor was implicated during an internal investigation and admitted collecting confidential staff system IDs, conduct it described as gross misconduct warranting termination.

However, the court found that the termination letter merely stated that Akor’s “services were no longer required” and made no reference to fraud or misconduct. Justice Bashir ruled that the bank could not later rely on allegations not contained in the termination letter to justify its action.

The court also held that First Bank breached its handbook by failing to pay Akor the prescribed half salary during his suspension and by terminating his employment while investigations involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were still pending.

The court therefore awarded Akor N3.22 million as withheld salaries and allowances for his suspension period and N2 million as general damages for the bank’s breach of contract and unfair labour practice. 

However, the court dismissed Akor’s claims for reinstatement, post-termination salaries, public apology and removal of his name from the bank’s alleged fraud register, citing insufficient evidence.