18yrs After, Supreme Court Voids Mobil's Sack of 860 Nigerians

The Supreme Court on Friday voided the sack of about 860 Nigerian employees of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, employed in the year 2000 as security officers, but named by the company as Supernumerary Police officers (SPY).

The five man panel of justices of the apex court in a unanimous judgment, held that it was illogical and without legal backing for Mobil to have employed the Nigerians and sought to off-load them to the Nigeria Police through the back door.

The apex court voided the termination of the appointment of the Nigerian employees yesterday in Abuja while delivering judgement on an appeal marked: SC/33/2010 by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.

The oil company had approached the apex court to reverse the 2009 Court of Appeal judgment which upheld the Nigerian workers' claim to being employees of the company.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice John Inyang Okoro, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the lower court which agreed that the Nigerians, led by Okon Johnson, were and are still Mobil's staff and should be accorded all benefits.

In the earlier judgment, the appellate court further ordered Mobil to pay the Nigerian staff all outstanding allowances and salaries from when they were purportedly variously disengaged.

"The summary of the facts is that the 1st to 15 respondents were employed by the appellants as Supernumerary Police officers (SPY) and issued with appointment letters.

"Thereafter, it (appellants) tried to off-load them (the 1st to 15 respondents) to the Nigeria Police, a decision the Nigerian employees rejected.

"The court below upheld their argument that they are not police officers, but staff of Mobil Nigeria Unlimited.

"So Mobil appealed to this court. And after we have painstakingly looked at all the exhibits before us, including the appointment letters and we have also looked at the Police Act as it relates to the mode of appointment of SPYs, we agree with the lower court that the respondents were employed by Mobil Nigeria Unlimited as their security staff.

"There is nothing in the Police Act, which gives Mobil the authority to appoint security officers and then, off-load them to the Nigeria Police.

"If the Police Council wanted to appoint SPYs it would have done in accordance with the Police Act, which it failed to do.