Retired spy police weep as court case lingers for 21yrs

By Brave Dickson

Some terminated spy police personnel of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company have expressed more worries following their case in court that has lingered for 21 years.

Following what they described as wrongful dismissal, some affected spy policemen in 1999 dragged Agip to a state high court in Port Harcourt.

In a chat with the lead plaintiff in the suit, Mr Fubara Briggs told our correspondent that their intention was for the court to declare their termination unlawful and order their employer(Agip) to either reinstate or adequately compensate them.

The plaintiffs through Briggs said they won Agip at the court of first instance in suit no. PHC/2068/99 but the defendant in the suit(Agip) appealed the case to the court of appeal and still went ahead to institute another suit before the supreme court on the same matter so as to delay justice.

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He said: “Due to the grave injustice and marginalisation of spy police especially those from the Niger Delta extraction, we decided in 1999 to sue Agip to court for sacking us unlawfully and should pay us our full entitlements.

“It is disconcerting to note that the court action we took has made the management of Agip to hate us the more and is using its financial strength to frustrate the case in court.”

The plaintiffs also appealed to relevant authorities to prevail on Agip not to further marginalize the sons and daughters of the Niger Delta region on its employment.

Our correspondent reports that Agip could not be contacted for comment as an effort to reach its staff proved abortive but would however still publish the company’s version as soon as it is available.