Court awards lecturer N40m compensation over unlawful dismissal

Friday, November 15, 2024 -The National Industrial Court in Akure has ordered the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) in Ekiti State to pay N40 million in compensation to Professor Niyi Akingbe, former Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts, over wrongful dismissal. The judgement, delivered by Presiding Judge Hon. Justice K.D Damulak on October 29, 2024, followed nearly six years of legal proceedings in the case (suit no NICN/AK/58/2018).

The court ruled that Akingbe’s 2018 dismissal, based on allegations of plagiarism, was unjust and declared it null and void. In the judgment, Justice Damulak stated, “An allegation of plagiarism against the claimant cannot be made...in the absence of the work/publication of a particular author or authors the claimant purportedly plagiarized, specifying what part of the work copied, printed, or passed off as the original works of the claimant without the claimant having acknowledged such works.”

The ruling further declared that Akingbe's dismissal was a violation of his right to fair hearing, ordering the university to pay him N40 million in general damages within 30 days or face a 10% interest per annum.

Professor Akingbe, known for his criticism of FUOYE’s administrative practices under former Vice Chancellor Kayode Soremekun, was dismissed following a plagiarism query. The court found that the plagiarism allegations were unsubstantiated and the university failed to adhere to the proper procedures outlined in the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti Act of 2015 and relevant regulations for senior staff service.

During the trial, Akingbe’s counsel, Ademola Olowoyeye, argued that the allegations were vague and lacked evidence. The court also noted that the university's Staff Disciplinary Committee, which investigated the claims, was unlawfully constituted, and it invalidated letters accusing Akingbe of misconduct.

In addition to wrongful dismissal, the court addressed Akingbe’s unmet promotion to Professor in the Department of English, which had been denied based on the plagiarism claims. The court deemed this denial unlawful, concluding that Akingbe had met all necessary promotion criteria.