The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ordered the reinstatement of Nurse Thomas Olamide, who was dismissed by the Ogun State College of Health Technology, Ilese-Ijebu, in 2022.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday in Suit No. NICN/LA/125/2023, Justice S.A. Yelwa declared Olamide’s termination “illegal, null and void” and directed the institution to immediately restore her appointment.
The court also ordered the payment of all outstanding salaries and allowances from the date of her dismissal, in addition to ₦5 million in damages.
Olamide was dismissed in 2022 after a college panel indicted her for allegedly authoring a whistleblower petition that exposed staff members involved in the diversion and sale of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) drugs to local pharmacies.
She challenged the decision through her lawyer, Timothy Adewale of Adewale & Adewale Legal Practitioners, at the Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court.
The Elegant Nurses Forum (ENF) welcomed the judgment, describing it as a victory for fairness in the workplace.
“This landmark decision is a testament to the power of truthfulness and the importance of speaking out against malpractices,” the group said in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Breeze Imrahn Nwagboso.
The Forum added that the ruling should encourage transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
