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Court orders Dangote Cement to pay truck driver N.8m hospital bills, 1 year salary
Nasiru Yusuf
The Presiding Judge, Kano Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Justice Ebiye Isele has ordered Dangote Cement to pay one of its former truck drivers, Anas Ibrahim accumulated salary from August 2020 to August 2021 and the sum of N847,450 representing the settlement of the Claimant’s hospital bills forthwith.
KANO FOCUS reports that the court held that “since Mr. Ibrahim suffered the injuries while in the employment of the firm and was subsequently hospitalized for months for treatment, it is only fair in the interest of justice and the circumstance of the case that Ibrahim be paid his salary from August 2020 to August 2021 when the company repudiated the employment relationship.”
However, Justice Isele held that Mr. Ibrahim had not shown the court that there is a duty of care which the firm owed him leading to the accident and trying to blame the company’s staff that were at the depot for not allowing him to stay over does not amount to a good excuse because the depot Managers were never named and were not called to give evidence.
From fact, the claimant, Mr. Ibrahim had submitted that on 01/07/2020 during the normal course of employment, he transported Cement Products from the Company Factory in Ogun State to the Company Depot at Ikorudu, Lagos State, and was thereafter directed by the Management of the firm’s depot to return to Ogun State that same day due to the Defendant’s policy that unloaded Trucks are not allowed to be parked at the premises.
The Claimant also averred that he was forced to leave the premises of the depot the same day at around 5pm and after navigating the Sango Ota toll gate successfully, a truck driver who was driving recklessly at the top speed lost control of his vehicle and ran into him and he lost consciousness and was taken to hospital where his medical expenses totaled the sum of N874,450 were incurred.
He averred further that Dangote Cement had refused to pay his salaries from August 2020 till date, and compensation, urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.
In defense, the defendant, Dangote Cement denied Ibrahim’s assertion and maintained that no duty of care was breached and from its investigation, it was found out that the Claimant was sighted exiting the premises without any forewarning and nobody could have stopped him from leaving because it is generally known that Claimant’s duty post is at Ibese Ilaro Ogun State.
defendant also averred that it was instrumental in taking Mr. Ibrahim to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta from the Sango Ota Hospital in a bid to provide him access to a better medical facility with an initial deposit of N100,000 while also gifted his family with another N100,000 for other medical bills.
In a further submission, the firm also denied abandoning the Claimant as it sent its staff to check up on him from time to time and even made money available for the test, X-rays, drugs, and ambulance throughout the Claimant’s stay at Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta before the Claimant suddenly disappeared, urged the court to dismiss the case for lacking merit.
In opposition, the claimant’s counsel averred that the defendant breached the duty of reasonable care for the safety of his client when the staff of the Defendant Company at the Ikorodu depot refused the request of the Claimant to spend the night at the premises of the Cement Depot and his yet to be compensated for the accident and injury sustained.
Delivering the judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Ebiye Isele held that the only fact found capable of making the defendant responsible is that the claimant was its employee at the time of the accident every other fact in this matter does not favour the Claimant’s case.
The Court further explained that clause D in exhibit A1 which provides for driving hours and conditions are to be strictly adhered to. These are from 6 am to 7 pm and no driving while rain falls, poor visibility, the influence of alcohol and drugs.
“From the above, I find that the Claimant was not in compliance with the defendant’s laid down rule in continuing to drive after 7 pm after enduring a more than two hours gridlock at the Sango toll gate from where he continued to drive makes him contributorily negligent.
“I hold that it was careless of him to have continued since he knew he was even fatigued,” Justice Isele ruled.
The Court dismissed N50m compensation and other claims for lacking merit as published in National Industrial Court website.
Mukhtar Yahya Usman
Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission, PCACC, has launched a mobile application, developed for receiving information from whistle-blowers.
KANO FOCUS reports that the application, ‘Shawarata’ was launched at the commemoration ceremony of International Anti-corruption Day, held at Coronation Hall, Kano state government house on Saturday.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, said the application was part of the agency’s resolve to employ technology to check the excesses of corrupt practices in the state.
Rimin-Gado said the event was a strategy to enlighten the public on the dangers of corruption, which according to him, has negatively affected all strata of development in the country.
“Part of our resolve to strengthen the fight against corruption and check the excesses of corrupt practices in the state is the introduction of technology by our agency.
“This is why we have developed a mobile app for receiving opinions, views, and suggestions from members of the public.
“This event is key to the fight against corruption as it enlightens the public about the dangers of corruption. Corruption has affected all strata of development,” he said.
In his presentation, Sadiq Yaya, PCACC’s Head of ICT, said the app is a platform where information could be received from members of the public.
According to him, the platform contains features to upload videos and pictures by a user, adding that it is user-friendly and fast.
He explained that the platform had also provided a feature to keep information providers anonymous by providing options for the anonymity of the user.
Yaya disclosed that the app has recorded 20 downloads so far, urging the general public to download it to provide suggestions, opinions, and other information to the commission.
In his remarks, the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf said his administration had zero tolerance for corruption, which is why it had soft far recorded some giant strides.
According to Yusuf, represented by his deputy, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam, the state government has recorded achievements so far as a result of blocking leakages since the inception of the administration.
He explained that the administration has resumed payment of salaries to civil servants without illegal deductions as it was done by the immediate past government.
He added that public properties illegally acquired by individuals in the immediate past government have been recovered and put to public use, citing Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital.
He said the government had also prioritized the creation of Anti-Corruption units in government agencies.
Governor Yusuf described the Kano anti-graft agency as “one of the best, if not the best in the country”.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government has said that it has blocked leakages and fraudulent siphons of the public treasury, saying in just a few months in office, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has saved billions of Naira.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Government alluded that hundreds of leakages had led to the misuse of public funds by those in authority, while institutions, government offices, and the general well-being of the public suffered neglect.
Delivering an address at the commemoration of the 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day, Saturday, hosted by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), the State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by his Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo says the government has zero tolerance for corruption.
The Deputy Governor, who represented Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the event, explained that some of the giant strides taken by the state government towards ensuring a better life for the people of the state are evidence of the fact that it does not tolerate corruption.
He explained that the regime has resumed payment of salaries to civil servants without unnecessary deductions introduced by the immediate past regime.
He added that public properties illegally acquired by individuals in the immediate past regime have been recovered and put to public use, giving an example of the Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital.
He said the government has also prioritized the creation of Anti-Corruption units in government agencies while ensuring it pays pensions and gratuities of retirees neglected by the immediate past regime worth N6 billion.
In his opening address, the chairman of the Kano anti-graft agency, Muhyi Magaji Rimingado described the agency as the most vibrant subnational anti-graft agency in the country.
Muhyi Rimin Gado hints that as of today the State Anti Graft office has become a source of inspiration with many other State Governors seeking technical advice on how to create and sustain their own.
He explained that the day is commemorated with the view of mobilizing the public towards fighting corruption.
Headlines
Kano guber tussle: Tinubu, APC using judiciary to destabilise the northern commercial center, Arewa coalition
Aminu Abdullahi
A pan Arewa movement known as Northern Coalition Youths Movement Initiative (NYMI) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration and the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) of an hidden agenda to destabilize the Northern commercial nerve center in order to weaken the economy of the region.
KANO FOCUS reports that this was disclosed in an elaborate world press conference at Arewa House in Kaduna state on Saturday.
The secretary general of the movement, Comrade Ibrahim Mohammed Inuwa, pointed to series of moves being made by the government to undermine the region using judiciary to subvert the people’s mandate in Kano, Plateau and Zamfara.
He said, in recent times, they have observed with dismay, how the much esteemed judiciary has become the lapdog to the executive arm of government which they said is expected to check as an independent entity.
“Gone are the days when judges dish out logical judgments that are acceptable to the litigants in any disputes. It is however sad that the administration of Pres. Bola Tinubu and APC has resorted to using the judiciary to snatch what it has lost at the ballot.
“Under the APC, the votes of the people no longer count, this is because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has become an extended part of the ruling party. In a bid to do the bidding of the APC.
“Judiciary has now become the rubber stamp to the massive scale of electoral robbery in the country. Where the INEC fails to award victories to APC candidate, the same courts are the avenue where the victories of the opposition parties are now only arrested but also stolen and given to the APC.
“Nigerians are living witnesses to what is going on in the Court of Appeal with respect to the governorship poll in Kano, Plateau and Zamfara States where the opposition parties have won the state at the ballot box and the attempt by the Federal Government to snatch these states from the winning political parties.
“What is even more embarrassing is the case of Kano where the Court of Appeal is still finding it hard to defend its verdict on the election which many have come to see as very ignoble and horrible. The fact that the verdict is tainted was further shown aa the NNPP try to secure the certified true copy of the judgment revealed the underhand dealings that must have happened with the document revealing contradictory outcomes.
While some paragraphs upheld the election of Gov Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP as duly elected.
“The embarrassment created by the nasty scenario is yet to abate as we address you as the action has further put the judiciary in the negative spot in the minds of right thinking Nigerians who have lost faith in that vital arm of the government.
“The most laughable verdict also is the issue of internal affairs of each political parties which is clearly enshrined in our electoral act and which the supreme court has long settled, yet that is the issue the same judiciary is using to upturn Kano’s mandates which was freely given to NNPP”,
The coalition accused the Tinubu’s government of waging war against leading political lights from the region in a bid to destroy or whittle down their relevance before the poll.
He said the coalition has been monitoring the development for some time, he however urged leaders in the North to live up to their responsibility of protecting the interest of their region.
He added “We wish to draw the attention of the people of the North to an ongoing sinister plot by Pres. Tinubu and the ruling All progressives Congress APC to politically decimate the North and render it impotent ahead of the forthcoming 2027 general election.
“The coalition lamented the fate of the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufa’i in the hands of the current government despite the support it gave to President Bola Tinubu during the electioneering campaign.
“One individual whose support and assistance to the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufa’i who worked on his colleagues in the North to sway victory for President Tinubu.
“What did he get in return? The former governor was rubbished by the government when his nomination was rejected by the Senate during confirmation allegedly on spurious claims of not scaling security screening,” the group wrote.
They also listed those who have been humiliated by the current government include, Senators Danjuma Goje, Abdulazeez Yari.
The statement further reads that “The former Zamfara State Governor was subsequently rubbish by the government when he tried to become the Senate President of the country. He was hounded and cowed to submission by the agents of the government and the state.”
Not done, they added that “Another Northerner who has also been humiliated since coming into being of this governmen
Anti-corruptions Day: PCACC launches mobile app to fight corruption
How we saved billions of public funds by blocking leakages – Gov Yusuf
Kano guber tussle: Tinubu, APC using judiciary to destabilise the northern commercial center, Arewa coalition
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