Lucia Balonwu v Voluntary Service Overseas (vso) International

• Judge: Hon. Justice B. B. Kanyip
• Judgment Date: 22 July 2020
• Respondent: Voluntary Service Overseas (vso) International
• Appellant: Lucia Balonwu
• Docket Number: NICN/ABJ/280/2018
• Court: National Industrial Court (Nigeria)

1. The claimant took out this action vide a complaint filed on 25th October 2018 together with the accompanying originating processes. In reaction, the defendant filed its defence processes. To this, the claimant filed her reply to the statement of defence accompanied with an updated list of documents to be relied upon and copies of the said documents. However, the claimant’s reply to the defendant’s statement of defence was not supported by any witness statement on oath or claimant’s additional witness statement on oath. The reply is accordingly without any supporting deposition. By her statement of facts, the claimant is praying for the following reliefs against the defendant:
(1) A declaration of this Honourable Court that the actions and inactions of the defendant had a material and adverse effect on the claimant’s working conditions, such that she could not reasonably be expected to continue in the said employment.
(2) A declaration of this Honourable Court that in the light of the prevailing hostile and humiliating work environment that gave rise to the claimant’s purported resignation, the said resignation was tantamount to a “Constructive Dismissal” by the defendant, and an unlawful one at that.
(3) An order of this Honourable Court directing the defendant to pay the claimant a compensation for unlawful dismissal in the sum of N325,000,000 (Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Million Naira only) representing the amount (including benefits and allowances) which the claimant would have earned under the contract of employment for the next 13 years, but for the unlawful dismissal.
(4) The sum of N500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Naira only) to the claimant as aggravated and exemplary damages against the defendant for “humiliating, degrading and belittling” the claimant in the eyes of her subordinates, peers and superiors across over 23 countries in brazen disregard of its own Global Code of Conduct.
(5) The sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira only) as cost of this action.
(6) Any such order or further orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.

2. At the trial, the claimant testified on her own behalf as CW and tendered Exhibits C1, C2, C2(a), C3, C4, C4(a), C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9. For the defendant, Patrick Procter, Director of Operations of the defendant, testified as DW and tendered Exhibits D1, D2, D2(a), D3, D3(a), D4, D4(a), D5, D6, D7, D7(a), D8, D8(a), D9, D10, D10(a), D11, D12, D13, D14, D15, D15(a), D16 and D16(a). The defendant’s final written address was filed on 26th February 2020, while the claimant’s was filed on 9th June 2020. The defendant’s reply on points of law was filed on 29th June 2020.

THE CASE OF THE CLAIMANT

3. The claimant’s case is that she was the Country Director in charge of the Nigeria Country office of the defendant from August 2016 to October 2018, and as Country Director it was within the scope of her responsibilities to ensure compliance with acceptable work ethics and the maintenance of discipline within the Nigeria Country office of the defendant, including escalating complaints in appropriate cases to her own line manager at the international level and other international staff who were empaneled to provide support for various country offices of the defendant at the regional level. The claimant alleged that having unsuccessfully tried several times to manage the many incidents of absenteeism, tardiness, and dereliction of duty of Ms Olayinka Omojokun, the People and Operation Manager (POM) and the claimant’s subordinate in the Nigeria country office, the claimant had cause to escalate same to her own line manager, the Global Operations Director (i.e. Mr Patrick Proctor) and to Nairobi-based Regional People Manager i.e. Esther Ndungu. The claimant alleged that neither the Operations Director nor the Regional People Manager responded to the said escalation. That the non-response of the Operations Director and the Regional People Manager emboldened Ms Olayinka Omojokun (POM) to continue her absenteeism and driven by a thirst for revenge, Ms Olayinka Omojokun (POM) filed a malicious petition against the claimant alleging “bullying and unfair treatment” and sent the petition to the said Operations Director (Mr Patrick Proctor) and the Regional People Manager (Esther Ndungu). That the Regional People Manager (Esther Ndungu) informed her of the pendency of the petition against her and stated that due to the receipt of the petition, they could no longer act, at the moment, on the claimant’s previous complaints of absenteeism, tardiness and dereliction of duty on the part of Ms Olayinka Omojokun (POM). That subsequently, her (claimant) line manager i.e. Operations Director (Patrick Proctor) became noticeably hostile towards her in a manner suggesting that he had already adjudged her guilty of the contents of the petition. That Ms Irene Oggawa, a Nairobi-based staff who is junior to her (claimant) by organizational ranking was assigned to act as the investigator in the matter of the said petition.

4. The claimant alleged that she submitted herself to the process of investigation despite the humiliation of being interrogated by her junior and the injustice of setting aside her initial complaints against the POM in favour of the POM’s subsequent petition. That she (claimant) submitted a written response to the malicious allegations of the POM against her. She (claimant) alleged that she was not informed of the outcome of the investigation, but rather notified following the investigation that she would be subjected to a “Performance Review”. She (claimant) escalated the unjust handling of the process to her line manager’s superior, Ms Donne Cameron, the Executive Director for programs (ED) who made no effort to review the said investigation process and thereby allowed the Operations Director (Mr Patrick Proctor) to continue to preside over the process.

5. She averred that the investigation report cleared her of the allegations made against her by the People Operations Manager (Ms Olayinka Omojokun). She alleged that having been cleared of the allegations of the POM (Ms Olayinka Omojokun) it then behooved on the organization to take deterrent disciplinary action against the POM for the malicious allegations contained in the petition against her (claimant). That the management of VSO International failed, refused and neglected to take any disciplinary action against the POM for her documented allegations which were very serious and of a nature capable of damaging one’s career in international development. The organization (VSO International) also did nothing to address her (claimant’s) complaints of absenteeism, tardiness and dereliction of duty against the POM. The claimant alleged that the situation subjected her to severe psychological trauma and not being able to rein in the POM, she lost the moral authority to demand compliance with workplace policies from other country office staff and was subjected to various subtle acts of insubordination across the office on a daily basis.

6. The claimant alleged that she then informed the OD that she could not function in an organization that cannot guarantee justice in its processes whilst also ensuring a conducive work environment for all its staff. The claimant alleged that at that point “it was clear beyond a doubt that her time with VSO International was over, but she decided that it would be wrong to resign at a time when the country office was expecting an audit team from the Headquarters in about a fortnight, so she decided to delay her resignation till after the audit”.

7. The claimant alleged that during her tenure as Country Director, the finance unit/department of the Nigeria country office did witness a high level of turnover of staff, thus the Regional Finance Manager (RFM) of VSO International, Ms Nancy Oseko, arrived Nigeria on an official visit to the country office on 14th May 2018. The claimant alleged that in furtherance of a seeming conspiracy to humiliate and belittle her and to undermine her authority in the country office which she headed the visiting RFM showed contempt for her (claimant) office as Country Director by making unilateral decisions bordering on the designation, placement and announcement of a new finance staff within the hierarchy of the Country Office without recourse to her, thus putting her in difficult position and gave staff the impression that decisions about them were made from the Regional office or the Headquarters, and the country Director had no say.

8. The claimant alleged that the books of the Nigeria country office were audited from 25th to 29th June 2018 and that she (claimant) and her team had begun working on the recommendations/advice offered by the audit team on some of the issues. The claimant alleged that on July 10th, 2018 she received a contrived audit report from Marilyn Acker, VSO’s Head of Risk and Internal Audit, which contained innuendos, half-truths and deliberate misrepresentations and purported issues that had never been discussed with the country office.

9. The claimant alleged that on 11th July 2018 she sent in her resignation as the Country Director of the Nigeria country office of VSO International providing the organization’s mandated 3 months’ notice culminating on 10th October 2018. The claimant alleged that during her notice period, VSO continued to humiliate her by informing colleagues across the organization that she had resigned because of audit findings thereby insinuating that she had been engaged in fraudulent activities and the organization continued in her humiliation by instituting follow on processes that are standard in relation to situations of fraud. The claimant alleged that following VSO’s communication, international colleagues began to relate with her with caution insinuating in official meetings that she needed to be guided on proper finance procurement processes. That the Executive Director Programmes further directed members...