About 70 disengaged staff of Premium Pension Limited (PPL) have sued the firm, challenging their disengagement and the alleged failure of the company to pay their gratuity and other entitlement.

In the suit filed before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja, the claimants, argued that their disengagement is illegal and unjust as it was allegedly done by PPL 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, has placed them in a situation of hardship.

The suit was filed by some of the affected staff – 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).

Premium Pension Limited is listed as the sole defendant. The claimants are praying the court for eight declaratory reliefs and nine monetary clams.

Raji and others 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. 

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

They stated, in a statement of facts, that they were all disengaged and served with their respective letters of disengagement from the 

4th day of August, 2025, although all the letters of disengagement were backdated to 29th July, 2025 and stated to be effective from the 1st August, 2025. 

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 tetters of Disengagement to the 29th July, 2025 so as to deny them their earned benefits and requisite notice or payment in lieu. 

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

The claimants stated that the defendant’s action has caused them and the other affected employees’ and their dependents severe hardship, financial loss, and emotional distress. 

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

According to the claimants, there were series of liaisons and follow up by representative of the ex- staff to the previous Board Chairmen of the company, namely Alhaji Aliyu Abdurrahnan Dikko, Mr. Ibrahim Alhassan Babayo and Arc. Yunusa Yakubu but to no avail.

Source; The Nation News