Justice Edith Agbakoba of the Abuja Judicial division of the National Industrial Court has struck out promotion and damages claimed filed by one Adeyemi Badiru against Nigeria Immigration Service and 2 others for lack of proof.

Justice Agbakoba held that Adeyemi Badiru having been reinstated would be expected to sit for the required promotion exams that it is only in a situation where he has shown the court that there was a promotional exercise within the years he was in office to which he was qualified or he had passed and was denied a promotion that the court can step in and make the necessary orders.

From facts, the claimant- Adeyemi Badiru had alleged that the Nigeria Immigration Service and its comptroller general breached the settlement agreement for their refusal to remove his name from the open and secret files of the Applicant which contains disciplinary actions and directives against him as ordered by the court.

In response, Counsel to the Immigration Service, K. A. UDUOJIE Esq admitted that the agency had complied with the Court Judgement in removing the Applicants name and disciplinary proceeding from their records that the Adeyemi violated the relevant provisions of the Public Service Rules in publishing in a national newspaper that he had been assaulted as the Court never gave him any license to be above the laws and never deemed it appropriate to explore internal mechanisms to settle the dispute, urged the court to dismiss the case.

In reply, Adeyemi’s Counsel, INNOCENT UKAOHA Esq argued that it is not an offense punishable by any written laws of Nigeria to sue the Defendants, that the Consistent failure of the immigration service to promote his client as agreed upon in the terms of settlement mutually executed between the parties constitutes a breach of agreement, urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.

Delivering the judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Edith Agbakoba held that the response of Adeyemi Badiru that the Immigration Service should bring their open and confidential files to court and show or prove compliance amounts to a fishing expedition, that if Adeyemi had any evidence to counter the agency position he should present same.

“As it is now, the Applicant has not established a right to any of the orders he seeks not as regards his record nor the promotion list, neither that he was wrongfully precluded from the 2020 promotion exercise. In which case I find no basis to consider the Applicant reliefs for damages having not established the substantive claims. I find that there is nothing upon which to place the claims in damages for consideration.” Justice Agbakoba ruled.