The National Industrial Court has been told how the Budget Office, a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, has unlawfully withheld the salaries and entitlements of her staff, Mrs Bilikisu Okenne Sannusi, for daring to expose corrupt practices in the ministry.
In a suit marked NIC/ABJ/96/2022, the claimant, Mrs Sannusi, alleged that in the course of her service in the organisation, she discovered monumental corrupt practices perpetrated by some staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, in the office of the Budget Office.
The claimant, who is demanding N50 million as damages, further revealed that the corrupt acts bordered on manipulation of budget proposals by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Meanwhile, Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi has, upon agreement of counsel to parties to the suit, adjourned to December 7 and 8, 2022, for definite hearing of the case.
Also listed as defendants in the suit are the Head of Service of the Federation (1st); Director-General Budget office of the Federation (2nd); Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National planning (3rd); AGF (4th) and Accountant General of the Federation (5th).
In her statements of fact before the court, she claimed that she reported some of the corrupt acts to the second defendant (Director–General Budget Office), being her immediate boss, but, upon discovering that the second defendant was complicit in the alleged acts, and following the aggression by him against her person, she reported same to the first and third defendants who, also, decided to trail the same path with the second defendant, leading to her name been expunged from payments vouchers and other efforts to frustrate her.
She further alleged that the second defendant, also without any justification, caused her Secret and Open Files domiciled with the Budget Office of the Federation Registry to be removed and kept in an unknown place, to frustrate her from proceeding on her retirement.
The claimant also alleged that the second defendant, in a bid to frustrate her, also instructed his allies in the Finance department to withhold and deny her due financial and maternal benefits and rights incidental to her employment and office in the Budget Office of the Federation.
She is praying the court to declare that the termination of her salaries and entitlements, prior and from November 26, 2021 till date, by the first, second, third and fifth defendants is illegal, unlawful and a gross abuse of governmental powers, and as such null and void and of no effect.
“That withholding of the Claimant’s Secret and Open Files and fringe benefits, bonuses and Christmas, Easter and Sallah gifts and all other benefits, howsoever, called incidental to her position as a staff of the Budget Office of the Federation by the second defendant is illegal, unlawful and a gross abuse of governmental powers, and as such null and void and of no effect.
“That the first defendant lacks the power to impose punishment or suspension of salary on the claimant, safe as stipulated by the public service rule, which must be adhered to as expressly stipulated, as doing otherwise amounts to a nullity.
Her counsel, Uzoma Nnona, also sought an order of court “compelling the defendants to pay the claimant all her salaries, entitlements, fringe benefits, bonuses and all benefits, however, called incidental to her position as a staff of the Budget Office of the Federation withheld by the defendants illegally and unlawfully, amounting to N2, 214, 250.00 only.
“In addition, the claimant is seeking an order of court compelling the second defendant to, forthwith, release the claimant’s secret and open file to enable her to proceed with the processing of her retirement.”
At yesterday’s proceedings, M.D. Agada announced his appearance for the second and third defendants, while Aliyu Abdulkadir appeared for the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Justice Oyewumi of the Abuja division of the court has equally directed that all processes relating to the case must be filed and served before the adjourned date.
