By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA—Following the arbitrary sack of over 840 security guards under its employ, the Supreme Court yesterday warned that it would not hesitate to sanction Exxon Mobil Oil company, should it fail to amicably settle all of them before March 21.

The sacked guards had gone before the apex court, contending that it was unjust for the oil giant to arbitrarily lay them off duty without benefit after they had worked for it for over 13 years.

They pleaded the Supreme Court to compel the oil company to obey an Appeal Court judgment that had ab-initio ordered it to consider the plaintiffs (the guards) as its employees and extend all benefits, rights, emoluments, privileges, immunities, conditions of service and all legitimate protections accruing to its other members of staff to them.

In the said judgment, three Justices of the appellate court, Justice Ngolika Orji-Abadua, Justice Kuma Akaah and Justice Jean Omokri, unanimously held that the security guards could not be regarded as officers of the Nigerian Police Force since the circumstances, nature, procedure and methods of their employment were not in harmony with Sections 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the Nigeria Police Act.

Consequently, the appellate court ordered that they should be compensated by Exxon Mobil, stressing that considering the contract of employment the workers entered into with the company, “the plaintiffs are not members of staff of the Nigeria Police, and the plaintiffs are, therefore, not entitled to be called supernumerary policemen nor to wear or use police uniform or any police kit or insignia calculated to show or portray the plaintiffs as policemen.”

Though the company, while praying the Supreme Court to over-turn the decision of the appellate court, insisted that the sacked officers were merely appointed as spy police and should, therefore, depend on the Nigerian Police authority for their entitlements, it, however, pleaded for time to settle the matter out of court, a request that was accordingly granted.

When the matter came up on December 14, 2010, a 5-man panel of Justices of the apex Court, led by Justice Dahiru Musdapher, ordered the company to ensure that it settled the case before yesterday.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, counsel to the embattled guards, Mr. Femi Falana, told the court that the company was yet to comply with that order.

“We urge the court to again impress it on the Appellant/ Respondent (Mobil) to speed up the settlement process because the sacked workers have suffered and are still suffering untold hardship,” he pleaded.

However, counsel to the oil firm, Mr. Kayode Sofola, SAN, insisted that his client was committed towards ensuring an amicable resolution of the case.

“The settlement process has been vigorously pursued and we are still on it,” he averred.
Meantime, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Rigim, yesterday, sought to be joined in the suit, contending that the police was hitherto excluded from the matter before the apex court.

Counsel to the IGP, Mr. S.B Ozoana who filed a motion seeking to be joined in the case, maintained that there was need to include the police as a party in the suit.