By Alaba Olusola Oke
A former Territory Manager with Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Ntima Anya, has dragged the multinational beverage company, Guinness Nigeria Plc. before the National Industrial Court in Akure.
Anya is seeking N100 million in damages over what he described as the wrongful, unlawful, and inhumane termination of his appointment.
The defendants in the suit are: Guinness Nigeria Plc, and Moshood Adejoro, who was his former Line Manager(an employee with the company till date).
The matter, which came up for hearing on Tuesday, saw the claimant open his case through his counsel, Mr Samuel Nmesi, who tendered 36 documentary exhibits in evidence before Justice K.D. Damulak.
The court admitted all documents and adjourned further hearing to Nov. 27, for cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mr Ade Abioye.
Anya, who served as Territory Manager for Ilorin/Offa, had alleged that his dismissal on Oct. 30, 2020, violated due process and was a product of bias, witch-hunt, and gross unprofessional conduct by his immediate supervisor, Mr Moshood Adejoro, and other top officials of Guinness Nigeria.
He told the court that inspite of submitting a medical report from the Olanrewaju Hospital, Ilorin, which confirmed that his blood pressure had dangerously increased, the company refused to allow him take his annual or sick leave.
He added that, instead of his complaint, he was allegedly forced to work during the COVID-19 lockdown and compelled to sell nearly expired Dubic Malt products — actions he said endangered both his health and professional integrity.
According to the claimant, his dismissal process breaches every known labour regulation.
He alleged that his company assets were seized in public, that the termination letter was signed under duress at a distributor’s outlet in Ilorin, and that no exit clearance or orientation was conducted despite his nearly ten years of service to the company.
Anya further accused the firm of denying him access to proper medical care, forcing him out of hospital on the very day his appointment was terminated, and trivializing his hypertensive condition as “ordinary sickness.”
He maintained that his health deteriorated rapidly after the incident, leading to severe sight problems that currently require corrective lenses.
Anya urged the court to hold that the purported Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) cited by the company as the basis for his dismissal was fraudulent and never formally initiated.
He noted that internal emails presented in court showed inconsistencies in the PIP timelines, suggesting deliberate intent to mislead the court.
The claimant also tendered several exhibits, including multiple medical reports, ECG scans, and referral letters to cardiologists, as well as commendation letters, salary review documents, and corporate awards for excellence he received in 2019 and 2020.
He argued that such records proved his strong performance before his dismissal.
Among the documents admitted were a death certificate of his mother — whom he said died due to his inability to finance her medication following his sack — and a Certified True Copy of a previous court judgment in a similar case where another former employee, Bright Nwosu, won against Guinness Nigeria at the National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt in 2023.
Anya’s counsel told the court that Guinness’s actions went beyond wrongful dismissal, describing them as “an attempted homicide” given the health risks and psychological trauma inflicted on his client.
He said that the case was not only about justice for one man but also about ending a pattern of abuse of power within the organization.( NAN)
Edited by Sadiya Hamza
