The Lagos division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, has ordered operator of Superscreen Television, GPC Media Limited, to pay N1.657 million to its former employee, Ogechi Maureen Femi-George, as unpaid salaries, unlawful detention of her personal belongings and wrongful termination.
Justice Joyce A.O. Damachi, in a judgment delivered on August 14, 2026, also awarded N1 million as general damages and costs against if instituting the suit against the media company.
Femi-George had sued GPC Media Ltd, claiming N450,000 in salary arrears for nine months between March and November 2017, N50,000 as salary in lieu of notice, and the return of her microwave oven and table-top fridge or their monetary value of N157,000.
She also sought N3 million in general damages and N2 million as costs.
The claimant through her lawyers, Momoh-Sanni Kadiri and Adedayo Adeniran had told the court that she was employed as a News Secretary on November 8, 2009 and later rose to the position of Marketing Manager before she was orally disengaged on January 6, 2021
GPC Media through its lawyer, Emmanuel Ogbitse, however, denied being her employer, arguing that her employment was with Superscreen Television and that it was merely an independent contractor engaged to train the station’s staff.
The defendant also relied on the doctrine of privity of contract, insisting that there was no contractual relationship between it and the claimant.
But Justice Damachi rejected the defence, holding that the court must look beyond formal labels and examine the administrative, financial and regulatory realities of the relationship.
The court found particularly damaging the evidence of the defendant’s witness, Prince Bright Eweka, who contradicted his written testimony during cross-examination.
While Eweka had stated that GPC Media trained the claimant, he admitted in court that the company did not train her. He also failed to produce the alleged training agreement between GPC Media and Superscreen Television.
The court further relied on documentary evidence showing that GPC Media paid the claimant’s salaries and deducted and remitted her PAYE taxes.
Justice Damachi held that the company’s conduct, including obtaining the claimant’s tax clearance certificate in its name, established that GPC Media was her actual employer.
The court also found that the defendant failed to prove payment of the outstanding nine months’ salaries and accepted the claimant’s evidence that N450,000 remained unpaid.
It further held that her oral termination without the required one-month notice or payment in lieu amounted to a breach of her employment contract.
On her personal belongings, the court ordered GPC Media to return the microwave oven and table-top fridge or pay N157,000, noting that the claimant’s evidence of their detention was not effectively rebutted.
Justice Damachi, however, reduced the N3 million general damages claim to N500,000, describing the amount sought as excessive.
The court also awarded N500,000 as litigation costs.
The judgment sum is to be paid within 30 days, failing which it will attract interest at 10 per cent per annum until fully liquidated.