By TAIYE AGBAE

Disengaged staff members of Premium Pension Limited (PPL) have sued the firm, challenging their sack and the alleged failure of the company to pay their gratuity and other entitlement.

The former staff, 70 in number. in the suit filed at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja, argued that their disengagement was illegal and unjust.

They argued that the company’s action was allegedly done for no reason, with malice and bad faith.

They added that their disengagement without being paid all they are entitled to, despite their repeated demand, had placed them in a situation of hardship.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit was filed by some of the affected staff listed as claimants.

They include Ibrahim Usman Raji, Emmanuel Folorunsho, Mustapha Saidu Sulaiman, Muhammed Baba Ibrahim – (suing in representative capacity on behalf of themselves and 60 others, whose employment were wrongly terminated).

The claimants, who named Premium Pension Limited as the sole defendant in the suit, sought eight declaratory reliefs and nine monetary clams.

They want the court to, among others, declare that contracts of employment existed between the claimants and the defendant from the time the claimants were respectively offered appointments by the defendant and until their disengagement.

The claimants also want a declaration that the abrupt termination of their contract of employment was wrongful, illegal and unlawful for the refusal of the defendant to give adequate notice or payment of salary in lieu of notice and for no reason whatsoever

They want the court to issue an order mandating PPL to pay them their gross emoluments in respect of “a lump sum payment equivalent to three months” as contained in their respective letters of disengagement.

The court is equally urged to order the defendant to pay all claimants their respective exit/gratuity as communicated to all staff previously upon approval of the board of the defendant.

They are also seeking and order mandating the defendant to pay all of them “their entitlements in full without any deduction of purported liabilities.”

They stated that they were all disengaged and served with letters of disengagement from the 4th day of August, 2025, although all the letters of disengagement were backdated to July 29 so as to deny them their earned benefits and requisite notice or payment in liu.

and stated to be effective from the Aug. 1.

Raji and others also stated that they had all resumed work in the month of August 2025 before they were served with their respective letters of disengagement and by so doing they were all entitled to the payment of education subsidy which is paid annually in the month of August.

They added that the defendant deliberately backdated the letters of disengagement to July 29, so as to deny them their earned benefits and requisite notice or payment in lieu.

The claimants further stated that the defendant had also refused to pay to them their profit share, performance and productivity bonus in spite of several demands.

They stated that the company’s action had caused them and the other affected employees’ and their dependents severe hardship, financial loss and emotional distress.

They told the court that the defendant had, in the recent past, paid gratuity and exit packages to some members of its staff upon their exit from the company, but had now chosen not to pay them out of sheer greed and refusal to be responsible towards them.

They said there were series of liaisons and follow ups by representative of the ex- staff to the previous board chairmen of the company, namely “Alhaji Aliyu Abdurrahnan Dikko, Mr Ibrahim Babayo and Yunusa Yakubu” but to no avail.(NAN)