Cookie Policy
TIJJANI ABUBAKAR JSC (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal presents another opportunity for this Court to examine the fundamental principles governing employment contracts in Nigeria, particularly the scope and limitations of the powers of an employer to summarily dismiss an employee for alleged gross, grave and grievous misconduct. At the heart of this appeal are therefore critical issues concerning the state of the law on the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements before the enactment of the Third Alteration Act to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended), the requirements of procedural fairness in employment-related disputes, and the extent to which an employer must conform to established legal principles in the exercise of disciplinary powers.
The facts culminating into this appeal are largely undisputed. The Appellant was employed by the Respondent as a clerk on the 23rd day of February 1968 and had his appointment confirmed in 1978. …