Sikiru Adewunmi Bakare Vs Lagos State Civil Service Commission (1992)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

OGUNDARE, J.S.C. 

By his amended writ of summons the Plaintiff claimed in the High Court of Lagos State from the Defendants as follows: 1. (i) A declaration that the First Defendant had unjustifiably repudiated the contract of service entered into (by) the plaintiff in or about 1973 by wrong fully refusing to pay to the plaintiff his salaries, allowances and other entitlements since 1st February, 1982 to date.

(ii) The sum of N500,000.00 being damages for wrongful dismissal,

(iii) In the alternative to l(i) and (ii) above,

(a) a declaration that the contract of service between the plaintiff and the 1st defendant entered into in or about 1973 still subsists.

(b) an order for payment of arrears of salary and all other entitlements due from the 1st defendant to the plaintiff from 1st February, 1982 until the date of judgment.

(iv) the sum of N25,000.00 being general and aggravated damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the first Defendant’s deliberate and malicious stoppage of the plaintiff’s salary as aforesaid.

2. The Plaintiff’s claim against the 2nd Defendant is for:

(i) the sum of N25,000.00 being damages for wrongfully and maliciously inducing the 1st Defendant to breach its obligations under the contract of employment between the plaintiff and the 1st Defendant.

(ii) the sum of N50,000.00 being damages for libel contained in a letter Ref. No. SMB/CON/PF/206/35 dated 11th June, 1982 written by the 2nd Defendant to Mr. O.J. Idigbe, of Chief Rotimi Williams’ Chambers, the Plaintiff’s former Solicitors.

3. The Plaintiff claims the sum of N100,000.00 jointly and severally from the Defendants, being exemplary damages for oppressive, arbitrary and unconstitutional acts against the plaintiff by the Defendants, their servants or agents.”

Parties filed and exchanged their pleadings. Both, with leave of the trial court, filed and exchanged amended pleadings. Thereafter the action proceeded to trial at the conclusion of which, and after arguments by learned counsel for the parties, the learned trial Judge dismissed Plaintiff’s claims except claim 2(ii) in respect of which he awarded N5,000.00 damages against the 2nd Defendant. Being dissatisfied with this judgment, the Plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal (Lagos Division) against that part of the judgment dismissing his claims. The 2nd Defendant did not appeal against the part of the judgment damnifying it in damages for libel. That Court, after hearing the appeal, dismissed it. It is against that dismissal of his appeal that the Plaintiff has, with leave of this Court, further appealed to this Court upon the following 4 Grounds of Appeal:

“1. The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred and misdirected themselves in law and on the facts when they held that under Rule 04502 of the Lagos State Civil Service Rules and Regulation 51 of the Lagos State Civil Service Commission Regulations, 1980, the appellant was automatically dismissed from the service of the 1st respondent.

Particulars of error and misdiscretion

(i) the provisions of Rule 04502 and Regulation 51 aforesaid in so far as they provide for automatic dismissal without hearing, are in violation of the appellant’s right to fair hearing under S.33 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 and are therefore unconstitutional. null, void and of no effect.

(ii) the provisions of the said Rule 04502 and Regulation 51 are self-contradictory in that they provide for automatic dismissal on one hand an on the other hand, gave the discretion whether to dismiss or not.