Appeal Court Awards N10m Against PenCom For Unfair Labour Practices

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has set aside the judgment of the National Industrial Court and awarded ₦10 million costs against the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for unlawful labour practices against 20 aggrieved staff.

In a unanimous decision delivered in an appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/830/2024, a three-member panel led by Justice Bilkisu Bello Aliyu, with Justices Donatus Okorowo and Oyejoju Oyewumi, held that the workers were unfairly treated, adding that their appeal has merit and ought to be allowed.

In the judgment read by Justice Oyewumi, the court nullified the June 13, 2023, judgment of the lower court, which had dismissed the workers’ claims in their entirety.

The dispute arose from the plight of the 20 workers who were issued letters of employment by PenCom, resumed duty on May 2, 2017, but were neither deployed nor assigned roles and were left without remuneration.

The court document showed that upon resumption, the workers were directed to “tarry” for further instructions, directives that never materialised for years despite repeated correspondence with the commission.

The appellants told the court that they had resigned from previous employment in reliance on PenCom’s offer, only to be left stranded without salaries, responsibilities or clarity on their employment status.

Arguing through their counsel, Samuel Ogala of Falana & Falana Chambers, the workers maintained that PenCom could not frustrate the performance of employment conditions and then benefit from its own inaction.

A certified true copy of the judgement delivered on Friday, March 6, 2026, but accessed yesterday by LEADERSHIP, the three-man panel of justices in their decision, held that the recruitment process, comprising advertisement, interviews and issuance of employment letters duly accepted by the appellants, constituted a valid and binding contract

Consequently, the appellate court emphasised that admitted facts require no further proof and ruled that a contractual relationship had been established, thereby imposing legal obligations on the respondents.

The Appeal Court found the workers’ prolonged ordeal unjustifiable and subsequently held: “The appeal succeeds,” and set aside the lower court’s decision.

It awarded ₦10 million in costs against the respondents, citing the “unnecessary and unwarranted rigours of litigation” endured by the appellants since the suit was filed in 2022.

The workers had, in the originating suit, accused PenCom of unfair labour practices, including non-payment of salaries, denial of promotions and unlawful restrictions on their performance of their duties.

They sought declarations affirming their status as employees under the Pension Reform Act 2014 and the Public Service Rules, alongside orders compelling payment of all outstanding salaries, allowances and entitlements.

They also requested protection from alleged harassment and an injunction restraining the Commission from further obstructing their employment.

The aggrieved workers had also in their originating in the suit marked, NIC/ABJ/188/2022, sought an order of the court directing the commission to pay them forthwith their salaries, arrears and allowances from the date of their employment till when the judgment of the court is complied with by the commission and the same to be calculated using the commission’s salary structure for its employees.

The claimants had also sought a declaration that “having regard to the provisions of section 28 and 29 of the Pension Reform Act 2014, regulations 040102 and 130105 of the public service rules, the failure of the commission to pay them their salaries, arrears, allowances and promotion from the date of their employment till date is an unfair labour practice, discriminatory, ultra vires and in violation of the provisions of the PenCom Act and the Public Service Rules.