The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has backed the judgment of the National Industrial Court (NIC) reinstating a former Director General National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Dauda.
Recall that Justice Olufunke Anuwe of the National Industrial Court had ordered the reinstatement of Dauda as the DG of the NIA.
The NIC stated that Dauda’s dismissal fell short of the NIA Act, ordering that he be paid salaries and entitlements from March 2018 till date.
Justice Anuwe held that under the agency’s rule, the appropriate committee to investigate disciplinary cases against management staff is the management staff disciplinary committee, not the “special management staff disciplinary committee.”
Not satisfied with the Industrial Court decision, the espionage agency appealed the NIC’s ruling.
But ruling on the appeal on Thursday, the presiding judge, Justice Peter Ige, held that the evidence leading to the dismissal of Dauda was “frivolous and lacking in merit.”
The Judge also resolved all the contentious issues against NIA in favour of Dauda, who is a respondent in the suit.
The appeal court ordered that Dauda’s salaries and entitlements since the day of dismissal from office be paid to him.
Ige said: “The respondent should be allowed to retire in service in accordance with the stipulated laws.
“There is no evidence before the court that shows that the respondent has constituted any risk or breached any law.
“The appellant appeal is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit, and the Industrial Court judgment is hereby affirmed.”
Recall that Dauda was the head of the NIA from November 2017 to January 2018 before President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration unceremoniously replaced him.
