About 70 disengaged staff of Premium Pension Limited (PPL) have filed a lawsuit against the firm before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja, challenging their termination and the alleged failure of the company to pay their gratuity and other entitlements.
The claimants argue that their disengagement is illegal and unjust, alleging it was done by PPL for no reason, with malice and bad faith. They contend that being terminated without payment of their full entitlements has caused them and their dependents severe hardship.
Details of the Lawsuit
The suit was filed by representatives—including Ibrahim Usman Raji, Emmanuel Folorunsho, Mustapha Saidu Sulaiman, and Muhammed Baba Ibrahim—on behalf of themselves and 60 other employees whose contracts were terminated. Premium Pension Limited is listed as the sole defendant.
The claimants are seeking eight declaratory reliefs and nine monetary claims from the court, including:
- A declaration that the contracts of employment existed until their wrongful disengagement.
- A declaration that the abrupt termination of their contract was wrongful, illegal, and unlawful due to the refusal of the defendant to give adequate notice or payment of salary in lieu of notice.
- An order mandating PPL to pay their gross emoluments, equivalent to three months’ lump sum payment, as contained in their letters of disengagement.
- An order mandating PPL to pay all claimants their respective exit/gratuity, as previously communicated to all staff upon board approval.
- An order mandating the defendant to pay all entitlements in full without any deduction of purported liabilities.
Alleged Deliberate Denial of Benefits
The disengaged staff stated in their statement of facts that they were all served with their disengagement letters on the 4th day of August, 2025, but that all the letters were backdated to July 29, 2025, and stated to be effective from August 1, 2025.
They allege that this deliberate backdating was done to deny them earned benefits, specifically the education subsidy, which is paid annually in the month of August. They also claim the defendant has refused to pay their profit share, performance, and productivity bonus despite repeated demands.
The claimants pointed out that PPL had, in the recent past, paid gratuity and exit packages to some members of its staff upon their exit, but has now chosen not to pay the affected 70 employees out of “sheer greed and refusal to be responsible.”
Source: ladunliadinews
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