The Port-Harcourt Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court presided over by His Lordship, Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman has delivered a judgment in favor of 51-teachers in Bayelsa state whose appointments were wrongly terminated.
The teachers had accused the Bayelsa State Government and Bayelsa State Universal Basic Education Board of unlawfully suspending them and withholding their salaries and other allowances in January 2013 to date.
The teachers also claimed in a petition against the government and the board that the then governor, set up a verification committee to verify the employment of teachers who were employed in 2011 and the committee recommended continuation with their employment. However, the secretary of the board went on air on the 28th day of September 2012, to announce the termination of their employment and requested that they should re-apply for another employment, which they did.
They were re-issued letters of employment dated 2nd January 2013 and redeployed to different places of assignment, and the board secretary for no reason went on the radio and announced their suspension from offices.
Justice Ploycarp Hamman while delivering the judgment, said that any disciplinary action taken must be in accordance with the provisions of the law or rules, and ordered that the salaries and allowances of the teachers be paid.
