By SCM Staff Writer I Tuesday, Sept 30, 2025
LAGOS, Nigeria – A Nigerian court has paved the way for a former employee to proceed with a wrongful termination suit against both the Nigerian subsidiary of TotalEnergies and its global parent company, TotalEnergies SE.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Hon. Justice S. A. Yelwa of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Lagos, dismissed a high-stakes application by TotalEnergies SE to be struck out from the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
The decision is a significant development in Nigerian labour law, as the court affirmed its competence to hear the claims, upholding the Claimant’s argument based on the concept of a “co-employment relationship” between Dr. Ayodeji Oladipo Sasegbon and the two TotalEnergies entities.
TotalEnergies SE (the second defendant/applicant), represented by counsel, had sought an order to strike out the suit against it, arguing that it had no direct employment relationship with Dr. Sasegbon, who was employed and terminated by TotalEnergies E & P Nigeria Ltd (the first defendant).
The French-based parent company contended that the court lacked jurisdiction over a foreign entity with no employer-employee relationship with the claimant, asserting that the facts disclosed no cause of action against it. In an alternative plea, the applicant demanded that Dr. Sasegbon pay a hefty security for costs, amounting to over 1.087 billion, or about 1% of the total claim, into a court-maintained interest-yielding account.
The company argued that this was necessitated by the “intensive financial implications” of being a foreign defendant in the suit. Court Upholds ‘Co-Employer’ Principle The Claimant’s counsel successfully countered these arguments, submitting that TotalEnergies SE and its Nigerian subsidiary were in a co-employer relationship.
They presented evidence asserting that the parent company exercised “overwhelming ownership, direction and control” over the subsidiary, including its employees, through a “One Total Organisation” policy.
This, they argued, made the global entity “jointly and severally liable” for the alleged wrongful termination. Justice Yelwa, after considering the pleadings and reliefs sought by the Claimant, agreed that the court had the requisite jurisdiction.
The ruling cited established Nigerian labour jurisprudence on co-employment, referencing the Court of Appeal’s decision in Onumalobi v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation & Anor. ”I am of the humble view that this court is competent to hear and determine the claimant’s case and that there is a cause triable,” the Judge stated.
Following the affirmation of jurisdiction, the court consequently dismissed the parent company’s ancillary reliefs, including the \text{N}1.087 billion demand for security for costs. The Judge held that since the principal relief challenging jurisdiction failed, the ancillary reliefs must also fail.
The ruling concluded by dismissing TotalEnergies SE’s application, clearing the way for the substantive suit to proceed to trial.
The suit, NICN/LA/155/2023, will now delve into the merits of Dr. Sasegbon’s claims against both the Nigerian and French entities.
This judgment reinforces the capacity of the NICN to scrutinize corporate structures and assert jurisdiction over foreign parent companies in Nigerian employment disputes, particularly where evidence suggests significant operational control over local subsidiaries.
