By Francis Iwuchukwu

Copyright tribuneonlineng

A former employee of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Kunle Rotimi, has escalated his decades-long legal battle by petitioning the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

In his petition, Rotimi is accusing the NUC of wilfully ignoring a judgment delivered in his favour by the National Industrial Court (NIC), Lagos, presided over by Justice (Dr) I.J. Essien in a legal action marked NICN/LA/464/2018.

The dispute, which dates back to 1996, began after Rotimi claimed he was unlawfully dismissed from the commission for refusing to pay a bribe to secure a spot in a master’s degree program.

Rotimi further alleged that the NUC has shown disrespect for the rule of law by failing to comply with the ruling.

In his petition, the ex-NUC staff stated that the NUC management is “hell-bent and unwilling to obey the court judgment.”

He has since initiated criminal contempt and committal proceedings against the NUC’s Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, and four other top officials.

Rotimi expressed disappointment that the Federal Ministry of Education has not yet intervened, despite the officials being named in the contempt proceedings.

It would be recalled that in his judgment, Justice (Dr) Essien had declared the dismissal of the former employee as unlawful, ruling that the process violated public service rules and due process.

The judge held that the NUC acted arbitrarily in its actions against Rotimi, in contravention of the Public Service Rules, the NUC Conditions of Service, and the 1999 Constitution.

Rotimi had approached the court on January 21, 2019, seeking a declaration that his dismissal was unlawful.

He also requested the court to compel the NUC to apply the same disciplinary precedents used in reinstating other employees previously dismissed for training-related offences.

In his decision, Justice Essien granted Rotimi’s reliefs and ordered the NUC to pay him N41,883,579.44 as special damages.

The sum, according to the court, covers unpaid salaries, allowances, and other entitlements unlawfully withheld.

The court further directed the NUC to comply with statutory obligations outlined in the Public Service Rules 2006 (Sections 030302–030307) and its internal conditions of service.

As of the time of filing this report, both the Ministry of Education and the NUC have not officially commented on the petition.

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