18 NON-INDIGENE SUNRISE WORKERS WIN ₦108M AGAINST TARABA GOVT

Court Slams Govt Over Indigene Discrimination, Says Workers Cannot Be Abandoned Because of State of Origin

By Taraba News | Jalingo/Yola

Eighteen non-indigene workers of the Taraba Publishing Company, publishers of Sunrise Newspaper, have won a major legal battle against the Taraba State Government, with the National Industrial Court awarding more than ₦108 million in salaries, damages and costs following their exclusion from an employment arrangement extended to their indigenous colleagues.

The National Industrial Court sitting in Yola held that the workers were discriminated against on the basis of their states of origin and declared the action unconstitutional.

The dispute dates back to 2014 when Taraba Publishing Company stopped producing Sunrise Newspaper and salaries of the affected workers ceased.

Following the collapse of the newspaper’s operations, the Taraba State Government subsequently absorbed workers who were indigenes of Taraba State and deployed them to other government ministries, departments and agencies, while the 18 workers who were not indigenes of the state were allegedly left without similar consideration.

The non-indigene workers maintained that despite being left behind, their appointments with the publishing company were never formally terminated and they were not issued disengagement letters.

It was this differential treatment—absorbing indigenous workers into government establishments while leaving their non-indigene colleagues behind—that became one of the central issues before the court.

Court Rules Against Indigene Discrimination

Delivering judgment, Justice James Agbadu-Fishim, PhD, of the Yola Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court held that excluding the 18 workers from redeployment on the basis of their states of origin amounted to discrimination.

The court found the action inconsistent with Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which protects Nigerian citizens from discrimination on grounds including ethnic group, community and place of origin.

The judgment effectively rejected the proposition that workers who had served the same state-owned establishment could be treated differently simply because some were regarded as Taraba indigenes while others came from other states.

How The ₦108m Award Was Reached

The court awarded the workers ₦73,257,715.40 in outstanding salary entitlements.

This comprised ₦29,881,416.15 for unpaid salaries from September 2014 to March 2017 and another ₦43,376,299.25 covering April 2017 to January 2021.

The court further awarded the workers ₦30 million as damages for the mental torture, trauma and hardship they suffered while waiting for their salaries and for their complaints to be addressed.

Another ₦5.25 million was awarded as costs of prosecuting the case.

The three components bring the specified awards to approximately ₦108.5 million.

But the government’s total financial exposure could eventually be higher.

The court reportedly held that because the workers were not formally disengaged, they remained entitled to salaries and consequently ordered the calculation of their collective monthly salaries of ₦951,398.90 from February 2021 up to the date of judgment.

It also ordered 10 per cent post-judgment interest on relevant sums until payment.

Govt Said Publishing Company Was Separate Entity

The Taraba State Government and other defendants had challenged the workers’ claims, maintaining, among other arguments, that Taraba Publishing Company was a separate incorporated entity.

They also contended that the company had been wound up and that former employees subsequently employed by the State Civil Service were recruited after following the appropriate process.

The court, however, found evidence indicating that Taraba Publishing Company had not been legally dissolved.

It also considered the relationship between the state government and the company, including the government’s role in establishing and exercising control over the publishing outfit.

Workers to Receive Disengagement Letters, Terminal Benefits

Beyond the monetary awards, the court ordered that the 18 workers be formally issued letters of disengagement.

Their terminal benefits and other outstanding entitlements are also to be assessed and paid.

The judgment brings renewed attention to a long-running employment dispute dating back more than a decade and raises a wider question about the continued use of “indigene” and “non-indigene” classifications in public employment decisions.

For the 18 former Sunrise Newspaper workers, however, the judgment represents a major victory after years in which their indigenous colleagues had moved into other government establishments while they continued their battle for recognition and entitlements.

The Taraba State Government retains the right to challenge the judgment through the appellate process.