The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by a former Deputy Director of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Yisa Usman, challenging his dismissal from the examination body.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, in a judgment delivered on June 2, held that Usman’s dismissal was lawful and in compliance with JAMB’s staff manual.
Usman was dismissed from JAMB in July 2023 following ministerial approval of the report of a disciplinary committee set up to investigate his conduct.
He had approached the court in September 2023, asking it to declare his dismissal unlawful and unconstitutional.
The former deputy director claimed that his dismissal was the result of witch-hunting after he filed whistleblowing petitions alleging misconduct and corruption within the agency.
He also contended that he was denied fair hearing by the disciplinary committee that recommended his dismissal.
According to him, his petitions to anti-graft agencies involved two members of the disciplinary committee, and this allegedly affected the fairness of the process.
Usman asked the court to reinstate him to his position and order the payment of his full entitlements, benefits and other perks attached to the office.
However, JAMB, in its defence, denied the allegations and argued that Usman’s petitions to government and security agencies were investigated, with the management of the examination body cleared of wrongdoing.
The board described Usman as “not a whistleblower but a self-serving individual whose stock in trade is blackmail.”
JAMB also told the court that the queries issued to Usman arose from petitions written by him and his proxies to the Federal Ministry of Education.
It said the investigative committee cleared the board and directed that Usman be subjected to the disciplinary process.
Delivering judgment, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae held that the composition of the disciplinary committee complied with the federal character principle, having been approved by the Minister of Education.
The court also held that the two members of the committee complained about by Usman, namely the registrar and director of finance, recused themselves before the proceedings commenced.
The judge further held that Usman was not denied fair hearing, noting that he responded to the queries issued to him and was given the opportunity to appear before the disciplinary committee.
According to the court, the former deputy director chose not to attend the disciplinary committee’s meeting.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae also held that the reasons stated in Usman’s dismissal letter were unrelated to his whistleblowing activities.
The court noted that Usman himself admitted that anti-graft agencies had cleared JAMB’s board of the allegations contained in his petitions.
“From the totality of the evidence adduced, I find that the misconduct of the claimant is grave and weighty. He wilfully disobeyed constituted authority,” the judge held.
“This has eroded and undermined the confidence reposed in him by the defendant to carry out his duties.