Court Orders Global Fleet, NICON Luxury To Pay Achi Magdalene N4m Car Loan, N176k Unremitted Pension Within 30 Days

Hon. Justice Elizabeth Oji of the National Industrial Court, Lagos Judicial Division has declared that the Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited, Nicon Luxury & Services Ltd failure, neglect, and or refusal to pay the Achi Magdalene’s entitlements was done in violation of her Letter of Employment; ordered them to pay Magdalene the sum N4,000,000.00 (Four Million Naira) car loan monthly deduction from August 2009 to April 2016 and the sum of N125, 000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand Naira) for August 2009 salary.

The Court also ordered the firms to remit the sum of N176, 200.00 (One Hundred and Seventy-Six thousand, Two hundred naira) Magdalane’s unremitted pension contributions to her Pension Fund Administrator with the sum of N500,000.00 cost of action within 30 days.

From facts, the Claimant- Achi Magdalene’s had submitted that she was employed by Global Fleet on 16th June 2009 as a business development officer and was deployed to Nicon Luxury & Services in August 2009 where she worked until her involuntary resignation in April 2016.

She averred that despite the persistent monthly deductions for car loan advances, the firms neither provided her with the car nor refunded the car loan deductions; argued that the firms own her a duty to remit her pension to the appropriate administrator, urged the Court to grant the reliefs sought in the interest of justice.

However, the firms failed to defend the matter since 2018 despite the evidence of the hearing notices received.

Delivering the Judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Elizabeth Oji held that from the evidence before the Court, there is no challenge to the sum stated to be the Claimant’s Car Loan deducted from her salary for the eighty months of the Claimant’s employment; nor is there evidence that the Claimant was ever given the car for which the deduction was made.

However, the court declined the request for the gratuity claim due to lack of proof on the premise that Magdalene failed to explain how she arrived at the sum of N2,028,734.00 being claimed as the gratuity.