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Operatives of the CP Special Assignment team of the Delta State Police Command have busted a criminal hideout of some suspected kidnappers/armed robbers who have been terrorising residents of the Abraka/Obiaruku/Umutu axis of the state. This was contained in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer SP Bright Edafe, copies of which were
The founder of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has finally unveiled his rationale for inviting Muslim clerics to…
A disengaged staff member of TOTAL Energies, Mrs Oghenero Ozobeme, has accused the company of frustrating pending cases she filed to seek redress over her alleged wrongful dismissal. This is also as she decried the alleged delay in the approval of processes for the filing of her appeal against a judgement of the National Industrial
Alleged Wrongful dismissal: Ex-staff accuses TotalEnergies of frustrating court cases
A disengaged staff member of TOTAL Energies, Mrs Oghenero Ozobeme, has accused the company of frustrating pending cases she filed to seek redress over her alleged wrongful dismissal.
This is also as she decried the alleged delay in the approval of processes for the filing of her appeal against a judgement of the National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos.
DAILY POST recalls that Mrs Ozobeme’s employment was allegedly wrongly terminated in 2018, leading to a suit she filed against Total Energies.
The claimant, who said she had brain surgery, had disclosed that the trip and medical treatment were funded by her husband.
In an SOS she sent then to the media, Ozobeme recalled that on April 30, 2020, amid the COVID-19 lockdown, TOTAL Energies allegedly communicated that her services were no longer required.
She said the sack letter was dispatched after the management of the oil giant got a subpoena to appear and testify in court.
“The termination letter was delivered to me at home on the 29th of April 2020 during the COVID-19 restrictions.
“It came from the Managing Director. In fact, the line manager had assigned tasks to me on the same day as I worked from home,” she claimed.
DAILY POST reports that the dismissed staff went to court, culminating in litigation that ended at the National Industrial Court, in suit No: NICN/LA/186/2018, wherein she alleged corporate misconduct and medical negligence.
Ozobeme claimed TotalEnergies and its lawyers had allegedly circumvented justice through the presentation of falsified facts.
However, Ozobeme, who is dissatisfied with the decision of the National Industrial Court, is now also claiming that her appeal against the judgement of the court is being frustrated.
In a recent statement she sent to DAILY POST, she not only rejected the judgement of the Industrial Court but also accused the court of denying her an easy opportunity to appeal the judgement.
According to Ozobeme, she filed an application for leave of the appeal court (CA/LAG/PRE/ROA/CV/407M1/24) to appeal the judgement “but has been continuously denied a court date for over 6 (six) months and still counting.”
On her grounds for faulting the verdict, she said the judgement delivered by Honourable Justice Professor Elizabeth Oji was on a faulty foundation, leading to a devastating miscarriage of justice.
She described as untrue the conclusion of the court that “the Voluntary Severance Package, VSP, is a retirement and resignation exit package initiated at the option of the employee.
“That the terms of voluntary retirement and resignation are provided for in the Collective Agreement and there is no mention of a Voluntary Severance Package or any additional benefit founded on employee application.
“That the 2020 VSP is not known to the employment contract or labour statute and was never placed before the Court.
“That the claimant admitted under cross-examination that she knew of the VSP but chose not to apply.
“That for the claimant to be entitled to early retirement benefits, she was required to seek approval from her employer.”
The aggrieved staff declared that she had filed an application to the National Industrial Court seeking a mandatory injunction “restoring parties back to status quo ante, having been unlawfully terminated without reason, while the case was pending before Honourable Justice Paul Bassi JCA.”
She added that she had filed a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee on the matter, seeking a probe of the legal process.
The claimant further stated that she remains unrelenting “and passionately appeals for support from everyone that shares the aspiration of human dignity, where innocent young women are not persecuted because they are blessed with reproductive capacity or a distinctive gender.”
She believed that the fight was not just for her alone but for every victim of medical negligence fighting for justice and accountability against powerful special interests.
However, when DAILY POST contacted TotalEnergies spokesperson, Noble Ikpami for comment on Friday and Saturday morning, he had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.
Alleged Wrongful dismissal: Ex-staff accuses TotalEnergies of frustrating court cases
The intractable crisis rocking the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu is taking a new dimension. DAILY POST reports that there has been a stalemate over the appointment of a substantive Medical Director months after an interview process was concluded by a Federal Government team. However, this time, a staff of the hospital, under the School of
Enugu Neuropsychiatric Hospital crisis: CMD risks jail over alleged contempt
The intractable crisis rocking the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu is taking a new dimension.
DAILY POST reports that there has been a stalemate over the appointment of a substantive Medical Director months after an interview process was concluded by a Federal Government team.
However, this time, a staff of the hospital, under the School of Nursing, Mr A.C Ndu has moved to jail the acting Medical Director, Dr. Ngozi Unogu, over alleged contempt of court.
This came after Ndu earlier won a defamation suit against the hospital officials.
Speaking to journalists, Chijioke Ezeh, counsel to Ndu, revealed that Justice E.M. Egumbge of the High Court of Enugu State had, in 2020, ruled in favour of the plaintiff in suit No. E712017.
According to Ezeh, the court awarded Dr. Ndu N2.5 million in damages and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, including Dr. Unogu and Dr. Ubochi, from questioning his qualifications.
“The High Court granted all our prayers and confirmed that Dr. Ndu had the requisite credentials to serve as the principal of the School of Basic Mental Health Nursing at the institution.
“However, the defendants defied the court’s injunction by forming a committee to investigate the same qualifications,” Ezeh stated.
Ezeh argued that Dr. Unogu presided over the committee investigating Dr. Ndu’s credentials despite being a party to the original suit.
“She made herself both a judge and a participant in the matter, which we believe is a contemptuous act aimed at discrediting my client.
“This is pure witch-hunt. My client has been targeted for no reason since 2017. On this matter, we have returned to the court seeking redress,” he added.
On the other side, Boniface Ugwu, representing the defendants, maintained that discussing the matter is subjudice.
“The case is still pending in court. An appeal was filed immediately after the 2020 judgment, and there is also a motion for a stay of execution.
“We have exchanged briefs, and the appeal is still under consideration,” Ugwu explained.
On his part, Onyebuchi Igboke, a member of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, urged the government to intervene.
He criticized the hospital management and the Ministry of Health for allegedly enabling misconduct.
“It is high time the courts enforced their rulings. Public office holders must obey legal orders.
“Dr. Unogu has overstayed her tenure as acting CMD, and we are calling on the permanent secretary or the minister of state for health to invoke Section 7 of the Civil Service Guidelines.
“If criminal proceedings are ongoing against an officer, the law mandates suspension until the matter is resolved,” Igboke said.
He further alleged that despite the conclusion of interviews and exams for a new CMD, the ministry has delayed confirming the successful candidate.
“The civil society is concerned that the minister’s failure to act suggests complicity.
“We are also aware that the hospital is yet to conduct any form of staff auditing. This is against the rules,” he added.
Enugu Neuropsychiatric Hospital crisis: CMD risks jail over alleged contempt
