Tina Amanda
The Industrial Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned for the adoption of the final written addresses of counsel on the defamation of character and unlawful interference suit filed by Tambari Michael against Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), AUGJ Services, and Mrs. Abimbola Ibikunle.
Justice Nelson Ogbu-Anya, before adjourning for the adoption of written addresses, gave a ruling striking out the claimant’s motion seeking to amend its processes and reopening its case, thereby, proceeding to hear the evidence of the defence.
While being cross-examined by the Claimant’s counsel, the defence witness Mrs Abimbola Ibikunle, 3rd defendant in the case, who is a senior maintenance Engineer to the Ist Defendant Nigeria Liquidfy Natural Gas (NLNG), admitted before the court to have passed the claimant picture at the security entrance of the company.
She admitted that the Claimant was not notified about the termination of his contract agreement, the reason being that the 1st Defendant NLNG does not have dealings with the Claimant, but has dealings with his employer, the 2nd Defendant AUGJ Services.
She testified further to the court that the Claimant’s access identity card into the 1st Defendant’s premises was withdrawn from him by the 1st Defendant upon request for a change of personnel, adding that the manner and way the Claimant conducted the work was not to their satisfaction.
The presiding judge, Justice Nelson Ogbu-anya, having concluded the hearing of the case, ordered parties to file their written addresses within twenty-one (21) days.
He did, however, commend the parties in the case for their tremendous cooperation in bringing the case to a close and adjourned it to April 18, 2023, for the adoption of written addresses.
In an interview with our correspondent, claimant counsel Mecha Kalu, said the 1st Defendant has no right to have pasted the Claimant’s picture amongst criminals or withdraw his access identity card since they are not his employer.
“They admitted to having pasted his picture, but they say it is at the security department, we tried to show them that it is where people pass, it is the room people pass before they enter the premises; that is where they pasted it alongside criminals, they can not deny that one.
“They admitted before the court that they withdrew his access identity card, they are not the ones that employed him why would they withdraw his services”.
Patrick Osu Counsel representing the 1st and 3rd Defendants NLNG and Mrs Abimbola Ibikunle declined to speak to our correspondent.
Recall that the claimant, Tambari Michael, former contract staff of NLNG, had approached the court in 2019 to challenge the termination of his appointment by the Supervisor of NLNG’s Logistics, praying the Court to declare his job termination as illegal and unlawful third-party interference.
Michael, in suit number NICN/ PH/43/2019, claimed that displaying his name and image amongst persons accused of having committed criminal offences was defamatory, which according to him, runs contrary to Section 4 of the NLNG Code of Conduct bordering on harassment.
Defendants in the suit are Nigeria LNG Limited, AUGJ Services Nigeria Ltd (the contracting firm) and Abimbola Ibukunle, NLNG’s Logistics Supervisor when the services of the claimant were terminated.
