About 70 disengaged staff of Premium Pension Limited (PPL) have filed a suit challenging their termination and the alleged failure of the company to pay their gratuity and other entitlements.
The suit, filed before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja, argues that their disengagement was illegal and unjust, carried out by PPL without reason, and in bad faith. The claimants stated that being disengaged without receiving their full entitlements, despite repeated demands, has caused them significant hardship.
The suit was filed by Ibrahim Usman Raji, Emmanuel Folorunsho, Mustapha Saidu Sulaiman, and Muhammed Baba Ibrahim, acting on behalf of themselves and 60 others whose employment was allegedly wrongfully terminated. Premium Pension Limited is listed as the sole defendant. The claimants are seeking eight declaratory reliefs and nine monetary claims.
Raji and the other claimants are asking the court to declare that valid contracts of employment existed between them and PPL from the time they were offered appointments until their disengagement. They also seek a declaration that their abrupt termination was wrongful, illegal, and unlawful, as the company failed to provide adequate notice or payment in lieu of notice.
The claimants are requesting an order mandating PPL to pay them gross emoluments equivalent to three months’ salary as outlined in their respective letters of disengagement. They also seek payment of all exit gratuities previously communicated and approved by the company’s board, as well as full settlement of all entitlements without deductions for alleged liabilities.
According to the claimants, they were disengaged and served with letters of termination on 4 August 2025, although the letters were backdated to 29 July 2025 and stated to be effective from 1 August 2025. They noted that they had resumed work in August 2025 and were therefore entitled to the annual education subsidy, which PPL allegedly sought to deny them by backdating the letters.
The claimants further stated that the company has refused to pay profit shares, performance, and productivity bonuses despite repeated demands. They argue that PPL’s actions have caused them and their dependents severe hardship, financial loss, and emotional distress.
They added that while the company has paid gratuities and exit packages to other staff in the past, it has now withheld payments from them out of alleged greed and refusal to take responsibility.
The claimants also stated that they previously engaged with former board chairmen of PPL—Alhaji Aliyu Abdurrahnan Dikko, Mr. Ibrahim Alhassan Babayo, and Arc. Yunusa Yakubu—but their efforts to resolve the matter were unsuccessful.