The case of the plaintiff/appellant was that he was appointed an Accounts Clerk grade 111 in 1963 in the service of the 1st defendant, and rose to the position of Senior Accountant in March, 1982 a position he held until July, 1985 when he was dismissed vide a letter signed for the 2nd defendant. He has been unemployed since then, and has suffered untold hardship as a result of the dismissal.

The defendant’s case is that there was a directive of the Federal Military Government that officers in the public service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be screened in order to identify those whose employment should be terminated in the public interest. In the course of the screening exercise it was discovered that the plaintiff and one Jacob B. Fadupin were responsible for the unauthorized sale of cables. The report of the screening committee was sent to the Ministry of Education & Science and Technology for consideration of the Federal Military Government, and the permanent Secretary of the said Ministry wrote a letter dismissing the plaintiff. The plaintiff was informed accordingly vide a letter dated 3/7/85. According to the defendants the 2nd defendant acted at all material times as a servant of the 1st defendant and within the scope of his duties, and should not have been joined as a party in the action, and that by the combined effect of Decrees No. 1, 13 and 17 of 1984 the Federal Military Government has the power and authority to dismiss any public officer, including the plaintiff from the public service of the Federation.

The parties adduced evidence, and learned counsel addressed the court extensively. The learned trial Judge evaluated the evidence, considered the addresses and at the end of the day found as follows: -

“In the circumstances the action of the plaintiff as filed in this case is struck out for lack of jurisdiction with costs, to be assessed in favour of the defendants”.