Hon. Justice Hassan Yakubu of the Ibadan Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court has dismissed Adejoke’s claims of forced resignation against Civic Microfinance Bank, citing lack of sufficient evidence.
In addition, the court ordered Adejoke to pay the bank a sum of N184,000.00 (One Hundred and Eighty-Four Thousand Naira) as payment for two months’ salary in lieu of notice for the termination of her contract.
Adejoke had alleged that verbal abuse during management meetings made the work environment toxic, which she argued was unfair labor practice. She claimed that upon returning to work on April 7, 2022, she was served a letter, dated April 4, 2022, demoting her from Head of Accounts and Risk to Marketing Officer.
In response, Adejoke wrote to the Managing Director on April 8, 2022, complaining about the breach of her employment contract and the demotion. Following no reply, she claimed she was forced to resign on April 11, 2022.
Adejoke sought N50,000,000 (Fifty Million Naira) in damages, alleging humiliation and degrading treatment in front of her colleagues and peers in the banking and accountancy fields.
In its defense, Civic Microfinance Bank argued that Adejoke was not demoted but rather redeployed to another department, in line with the bank’s staff conditions. The bank maintained that her role as a management staff remained unchanged and her salary was unaffected.
The bank counter-sued for N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) for damages related to what it considered a frivolous and unfounded lawsuit.
After considering all the facts, Justice Yakubu concluded that Adejoke failed to provide credible evidence that her resignation was not voluntary. The judge pointed out that Adejoke’s testimony, which contradicted documentary evidence, weakened her case.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that Adejoke did not provide any documents, such as her payslips or bank statements, to prove her salary had decreased as a result of the redeployment. Justice Hassan also dismissed the claim that the bank had breached her employment contract by unilaterally changing the terms, stating that the redeployment was not a demotion.
