ABUJA — The National Industrial Court, NIC, sitting in Abuja has upheld the compulsory retirement of Mr Kadejo Abdulhakeem, a former employee of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS.
Delivering judgment, yesterday, Justice Oluseun Shogbola held that the retirement by the NCS board was in accordance with the law governing the employment of the claimant.
Shogbola held that the claimant was not entitled to reinstatement since the defendant constituted a medical board that examined and declared him unfit, after he sustained serious injuries from an accident.
She also held that the defendant had the power to retire the claimant at anytime, as there was no law preventing the defendant from retiring him before he attained retirement age.
Shogbola, however, ordered the NCS to calculate and pay the medical bills of the claimant from when he had the accident to his hospitalisation.
The presiding judge said it was the duty of the NCS to cater for the claimant’s treatment, since he had the accident while on an official duty.
She also ordered the claimant to furnish the NCS with all the necessary documents, to enable them prepare his retirement gratuity.
She said: “The defendant has acted within the law, having constituted a medical board that examined and declared the claimant unfit to continue to work as a para-military officer and he is therefore not entitled for reinstatement.
“It is also my view that the defendant ought to have taken care of the claimant’s medical bills when he had the accident because he was on official duty.
“The defendant is hereby directed to look at the receipts of the claimant’s hospital bills.”
Reacting to the judgment, the claimant’s counsel, Miss Gloria Okhajaguan, commended the court for a well considered ruling.
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