TheCable

The national industrial court in Abuja has ordered the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to pay Sambo Abdullahi, a staff of the company, his salaries and other emoluments from December 22, 2017, till date.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Oyejoju Oyewunmi, the judge, said Abdullahi’s suspension in 2017 was unlawful.

She also condemned NBET’s refusal to allow Abdullahi to enjoy his annual leave.

The judge ordered the company to pay Abdullahi all salaries owed to him with immediate effect.

She added that failure to pay Abdullahi within 30 days would attract 21% of the accrued salary and other emoluments per annum.

As the head of internal audit at NBET, Abdullahi had queried alleged fraudulent acts by Marilyn Amobi (pictured), managing director of NBET.

Together with another staff, Waziri Bintube, he had exposed alleged fraudulent transactions at NBET.

He was redeployed to another department while his salaries were reportedly withheld from December 2017.

In a letter dated December 27, 2017, NBET told Abdullahu that he had become redundant after refusing to accept his redeployment.

“It is not in the public interest to continue paying you for being redundant. Based on this, I am directed to convey to you the company’s decision to stop further payments of your salary and emoluments effective from Friday 22^nd day of December until the board decides your petition,” the letter read.

Abdullahi had approached the industrial court on December 7, 2018, seeking redress over his alleged intimidation.