- Eterna Oil & Gas
By Emmanuel Ukudolo
Lagos
IKOYI, Lagos – The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Lagos, has dismissed a suit seeking over N113 million in damages filed by a former employee of Eterna PLC, Ms. Goziem Dickson, over alleged wrongful termination and unfair labour practices.
The judgment, delivered on October 24, 2025, by Hon. Justice A.N. Ubaka, ruled that Ms. Dickson, who was a Supervisor 1 at the time of her disengagement, failed to prove her claims of wrongful termination, harassment, and constructive dismissal.
NICN Upholds Eterna PLC’s Right to Terminate Employment
Ms. Dickson was terminated by a letter of disengagement dated July 30, 2021, for “lack of improvement regarding your behaviour and relationships within your department, despite various interventions by the HR and other members of the management team.”
Ms. Dickson had sought several declarations and orders, including:
A declaration that the termination was wrongful, unfair, and amounted to unfair labour practice.
N13,227,574.00 representing two years’ salary.
N100,000,000.00 in general damages for emotional trauma and financial distress.
N10,000,000.00 as the cost of engaging her lawyers, Messrs. Perchstone & Graeys.
In his judgment, Justice Ubaka held that the employment was an ordinary master-servant relationship governed by the contract terms.
He affirmed the employer’s right to terminate the contract by giving notice or paying salary in lieu, noting that Eterna PLC had paid the claimant one month’s salary in lieu of notice, albeit belatedly.
”The position of the law under common and Nigerian law is that, ordinarily, a master has a right to terminate the servant’s employment for good or for bad or for no reason at all… The defendant has a right of termination of the contract by either giving a particular length of notice or payment of salary in lieu of the length of notice. The latter course was chosen.”
The court found that Ms. Dickson’s assertion that the termination was wrongful lacked sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the behaviour of her line manager was pervasive enough to interfere with her work performance, noting that past queries and internal communications showed issues with her behaviour and relationships.
Harassment, PIP, and Alleged Unfair Labour Practice
The claimant, represented by Folabi Kuti SAN, had argued that she was constructively dismissed due to continuous fierce hostility, harassment, and victimization by her new Line Manager, Mrs. Adetutu Pratt, which culminated in a biased Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). She claimed that despite passing the PIP’s behavioural evaluation, her employment was abruptly terminated.
Eterna PLC, through its counsel Odubunmi Olagoke, countered that Ms. Dickson’s promotion was part of a restructuring exercise and not solely on stellar performance.
The company argued that the claimant had a history of behavioural issues, citing past queries and a complaint from a junior staff member regarding lack of supervision.
The defence also submitted that the claimant failed the PIP, with the report stating she “did not meet up to the requirements of the PIP,” and that her “behaviour towards her team mates was un-cooperative.” The PIP, according to Eterna, was instituted by the Managing Director, not Mrs. Pratt alone, and the behavioural evaluation was done by her team members, excluding Mrs. Pratt, to ensure fairness.
Non-Contemporaneous Payment and GT Bank Loan
Ms. Dickson had also argued that the non-payment of her terminal dues contemporaneously with the termination rendered the disengagement invalid.
The court acknowledged the delay but accepted the defendant’s explanation that the payment was withheld because Eterna PLC had guaranteed a loan Ms. Dickson took from GT Bank, and her final entitlements had to be paid directly into her GT Bank salary account to service the loan, a fact the claimant did not deny.
Justice Ubaka stated, “It is accordingly my holding that the termination was not wrongful by non-payment of her entitlement contemporaneously.”
Eterna PLC’s Counterclaim Dismissed
Eterna PLC had filed a counterclaim for N500,000,000.00 against Ms. Dickson for alleged unsanctioned disclosure of vital and privileged company information to an external data analyst to prepare her reports, thereby breaching her confidentiality obligations.
However, the court also dismissed the counterclaim, stating that “The defendant has not told the court when it discovered the unsanctioned disclosure, what steps it took. The counterclaim fails and is dismissed.”
The judge concluded: “The claimant’s case is dismissed in its entirety.”
