Court Voids Banker’s Sack Over OAU Degree Mix-Up, Awards N5.5m

A former banker dismissed nearly two decades ago over a disputed university degree has secured judgment against his employer, with the National Industrial Court of Nigeria ruling that the bank wrongfully terminated his appointment based on incorrect information supplied by Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Justice Maureen Esowe, sitting at the Lagos Division, ordered the bank to withdraw the dismissal of Mr Tajudeen Balogun and awarded him N5 million in general damages, alongside N500,000 as costs of litigation, in Suit No. NICN/LA/471/2022. “The defendant breached the terms contained in its staff handbook and denied the claimant fair hearing,” Justice Esowe held, adding that the dismissal was founded on an allegation of certificate forgery that was never disclosed to the claimant or subjected to any disciplinary process.

Balogun, represented by Gbenga Paseda & Associates, had asked the court to declare his dismissal unlawful, malicious, null and void, arguing it rested on a false forgery allegation traced to an error committed by OAU during a verification exercise conducted by his employer.

The dispute dates to November 2005, when Oceanic Bank International Limited dismissed Balogun rather than confirming his appointment. Court documents show the dismissal letter stated no reason for the decision, and the employee faced no misconduct allegation at the time.

According to the records, the bank forwarded confidential reference forms to OAU on February 28 and June 1, 2005, seeking verification of Balogun’s academic credentials and character. The university reportedly responded that he had graduated with a Third-Class degree, contrary to the Second-Class Lower degree on the certificate he submitted during recruitment. The conflicting information allegedly led the bank to conclude that the certificate was forged.

Balogun maintained that he was never told of any forgery allegation, nor invited to explain the discrepancy before the decision. The reason emerged only in 2011, when he visited OAU’s Department of Agricultural Engineering while processing documents for postgraduate studies and discovered the correspondence between the bank and the university.

In a letter dated October 14, 2011, the Office of the Vice-Chancellor reportedly wrote to Ecobank, clarifying that Balogun had in fact graduated with a Second-Class degree and not a Third-Class degree as previously communicated by a university official in 2005. The court found that the institution later admitted its mistake.

Although OAU was initially joined as a defendant, the university was struck out after the court held that it lacked jurisdiction over the claims against the institution. Justice Esowe noted that academic records are sensitive documents capable of affecting a person’s career, reputation and prospects, and should be handled with utmost care.

The court rejected the bank’s argument that the dismissal was based solely on an alleged excess payment transaction involving N110,000 rather than the academic discrepancy. Justice Esowe held that the evidence established a nexus between the information supplied by OAU and the decision to dismiss the claimant.

Rejecting the contention that compensation should be limited to salary in lieu of notice, the judge relied on recent Supreme Court authority. The court referred to Skye Bank Plc v. Adegun, where the Supreme Court held that damages for wrongful termination should consider the consequential losses suffered by an employee and should not necessarily be restricted to the notice period in the contract.

“Therefore, in the wrongful dismissal of the claimant resulting not only in his loss of job but loss of hope of getting another job, it is reasonably expected that he should be duly compensated for this wrong,” the judge held. The matter originated at the Federal High Court, Lagos, in 2012 before transfer to the National Industrial Court.