Samson Folarin
A 70-year-old security guard, Ibrahim Isa, has lamented his inability to recover the sum of N147,500 which he claimed a nylon producing company in the Agege area of Lagos State owed him as salary arrears.
Isa was taken to his hometown in the Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State in January 2018 after he fell ill. His wife reportedly died in December 2017.
The septuagenarian told PUNCH Metro on the telephone that aside the sickness and bereavement, which were taking a toll on his health, he could barely feed due to lack of funds.
He said efforts to recover the N147,000, which he believed could alleviate his suffering, had been abortive.
Our correspondent learnt that the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender had written four invitation letters to the company.
The company reportedly acknowledged the letters, but declined the invitations.
A representative of the company later told our correspondent that there was no record of Isa being a worker at the company.
However, during a chat with our correspondent and in a petition to the OPD, Isa refuted the claims.
He said, “I started working for the company as a security guard on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. I was on permanent night duty and was placed on a salary of N15,000. On Friday, February 5, the accountant, Mr. Kayode, paid me N14,500 as my January salary.
“Meanwhile, within the said time, I had spent over N3,000 to get a raincoat, a torchlight and stationery for the use of the security unit. The money was from my salary which the company did not bother to refund.
“Between April 23 and May 21, 2015, I was paid N16,000, instead of N30,000. In July, he (Kayode) gave me N10,000 as part payment for my July salary. He never gave me the balance of N5,000.
“In September, I started working on both day and night shifts and was entitled to N30,000 per month. But instead of giving me N30,000 at the end of the month, the managing director paid me N10,000 on October 24, 2015.
“In November, I met the MD, Mr. Bolade, and told him that I lost my elder sister and needed money to meet some needs. He gave me N5,000 and another N2,000 after three days.”
Isa, a retired police sergeant, said in March 2016, the company’s MD told him that his services were no longer needed.
He said although no reason was given for the sacking, he insisted on collecting his arrears which totalled N147,000.
The father of four explained that the MD shouted at him and ordered him to vacate the premises with his belongings.
“The next day, Tuesday, March 8, 2016, I went to his office for my arrears, but he said my money was not ready. I asked him when my money would be ready, but he said he did not know,” he added.
Isa said he was usually paid his salaries in cash, adding that when he asked for his employment letter, the MD told him to be patient.
He noted that he only signed vouchers at the company before getting his salaries.
“My wife is dead now and I am sick. I am hungry. I don’t have food to eat,” he said.
A top management official of the company, Mr. Bolade, denied knowing Isa during a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
“We don’t have any Isa in our company. His name is not in our system. Or were you the one that employed him? We don’t know him,” he said and cut off the call.
An official of the OPD told PUNCH Metro that efforts by the agency to get audience with the company had proved abortive.
He noted that the agency was handicapped because the victim had no appointment letter.
He said, “We sent invitation letters dated March 29 and April 25, 2016 to the firm, West Mart Nigeria Limited, and both were duly acknowledged. However, the company did not honour the invitation.
“Recently, Mr. Isa wrote a protest letter, dated January 19, 2018 to the Chief Justice of the Federation, titled, ‘Maltreatment as a slave in my country Nigeria about my salary of N147,000 only.’
“In a bid to give the company another opportunity to address the allegations against them, especially as the OPD had discovered that Mr. Isa was sick, bereaved and in the village unable to care for himself, 3rd and 4th letters of invitation, dated January 30, 2018 and February 6, 2018 respectively, were written to the company. The letters were duly acknowledged, but once again, the company failed to honour our invitations.”
The official said in line with Section 2(1)(c) of the Office of the Public Defender Law 2015, the agency sent some of its operatives into the neighbourhood to verify Isa’s claims.
Residents in the company’s vicinity, who saw his picture, were reported to have confirmed that he was a former employee of the company.
“West Mart has been given several opportunities to rebut Mr. Isa’s claim or in the very least, state their own side of the story. By failing to honour the invitations sent to them, though they were received, West Mart’s silence under the law can be taken as acceptance of the allegations against them.
“The company’s conduct can be interpreted as oppressive, tyrannical, unjust and an utmost infringement on Mr. Isa’s rights. It is obvious from the conduct of the company that they have been exploiting the desperate situation of the vulnerable and less privileged members of the society like Mr. Isa,” the official added.
The Director of the OPD, Mrs. Olubukola Salami, who urged companies in the state to desist from exploiting residents, advised Lagosians to always formalise their employments.
She said by and by the law would catch up with defaulters of the law.
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