The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in Akure, Ondo state, has ordered the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to pay a former officer, Omopariola Olajide David, the sum of N4.488 million in outstanding salaries after declaring his 2012 termination unlawful.
Justice K.D. Damulak, in a judgment delivered on July 16, 2026, also awarded N500,000 general damages and N200,000 costs against the FRSC, bringing the total monetary award to N5.188 million.
The court held that the claimant’s statutorily protected employment was unlawfully terminated on the ground that his services were no longer required.
Omopariola had approached the court seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that his termination on allegations of corruption and abuse of office was unlawful, as well as payment of N5.358 million representing salaries and allowances allegedly withheld between July 2012 and March 2021.
The claimant told the court that he joined the FRSC in February 2007 and served in various commands, including Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti, Oyo, Kwara and Ogun states.
According to him, he and members of his team were accused of collecting bribes while on patrol in 2011. They were subsequently tried before the Federal Discipline Court and discharged and acquitted on March 7, 2012, with the panel recommending their reinstatement.
He alleged, however, that when he attempted to resume at his command, he was denied entry and later posted to the sector command in Abeokuta, where he worked for about three months before receiving a termination letter.
The claimant said he later learnt in 2020 that he had been reinstated by the FRSC. He subsequently submitted a letter of resignation and demanded his outstanding salaries and entitlements.
The FRSC, while acknowledging that the claimant had been discharged by the disciplinary panel, argued that his appointment had been duly terminated in July 2012 following a review of the panel’s report.
The Corps also maintained that his subsequent reinstatement was conditional and that he and other affected officers were required to forfeit salaries and benefits for the period they were out of service.
Justice Damulak rejected the argument, holding that the claimant’s termination for “services not required” was unlawful, particularly given the statutory protection attached to his employment.
The court relied on the legal effect of reinstatement, noting that reinstatement restores an employee to the position occupied before removal and carries retrospective effect, including restoration of wages for the intervening period.
The judge consequently ordered the FRSC to pay the claimant salaries from August 2012 to September 2020—98 months at N45,800 monthly, totaling to N4,488,400 million.
However, the court dismissed the claimant’s allegation that the FRSC had continued collecting his salaries from the Federal Government and converting them for its own use, describing the allegation as unproven.
The court also struck out the FRSC’s preliminary objection, holding that it had been abandoned and that objections concerning pre-action notice and the Corps’ juristic personality were not properly raised in the statement of defence.
The court ordered that all the monetary awards be paid within 21 days, failing which they would attract 10 per cent interest per annum.