ExxonMobil Faces $4.2 Million Lawsuit for Alleged Wrongful Termination of Staff Member Who Refused Unethical Actions in the Middle East

Daily Global News reports, that the Presiding Judge of the National Industrial Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Justice H. Gwandu, has adjourned the definite hearing of a $4.2 million lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil Corporation, a multinational oil company, and its parent body, Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited, by a former employee, James Nwagbogwu Ebede. The lawsuit claims wrongful termination.

The case was supposed to resume last Friday; however, the lead defense counsel, Paul Usoro SAN, was absent but sent a written letter to the court through one of his colleagues, Mrs. Esther Samuel, stating that he could not attend court that day due to his involvement in time-bound election petition matters at the election petition tribunal. He requested an adjournment.

In response, James Nwagbogwu Ebede’s counsel, Barrister Chucks Uguru, objected to any further adjournment on the grounds that the case had already been ongoing since 2018, and his client had been denied access to his property, which had been locked up. He argued that his client, who had already given his evidence, should be cross-examined or the defense should forfeit their right to cross-examine.

Additionally, Barrister Uguru claimed that the defendants were in contempt of court for not obeying the court order to deposit $4.2 million into an interest-yielding account. He cited the case of Malari versus Leigh 2019 Nigeria weekly Law Report part 1659, which highlighted the right of parties in a civil matter to assign a representative to handle litigation in case the primary representative is unable to do so due to circumstances such as sickness. He argued that Paul Usoro, with his team of lawyers, could adequately represent the absent defense counsel.

Regarding the issue of contempt proceedings, the lawyer representing ExxonMobil, M. A. Sowumi, informed the court that they had appealed against the court’s ruling and filed a stay of execution of the order. However, Barrister Uguru emphasized that the contempt proceedings were separate from the ongoing case since the order had not been obeyed.

The court had previously ordered the second defendant, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, to establish an account with sufficient funds to cover the judgment amount if the plaintiff’s claims were successful. However, the company failed to comply with the court’s order, leading to the issuance of form 48 for disobedience to the court’s order against six officials of the company: Richard Lang, Alexander Savva, Mr. Olusegun Banwo, Dozie Adesuwa, Aliyu Bala, and Adelabu Adedoyin.

In a statement of facts filed with the National Industrial Court on behalf of James Ebede, the former ExxonMobil staff member, it was stated that he worked as an engineer for the company from December 2001 to 2018. Due to his consistent excellent performance, he was given important responsibilities over the years. However, in 2015, while on assignment in Dubai until December 2017, he was forcefully redeployed to Nigeria and subsequently retired because he refused to engage in dishonest actions that he was being compelled to carry out by the manager of ExxonMobil in the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

According to Mr. Ebede, upon his return to Nigeria, further punitive actions were taken against him, ultimately leading to his forced retirement. These actions included attempts by the company to make him employ unqualified engineers and pressure him into signing off on incomplete and poorly executed projects. As a result, Mr. Ebede is seeking $4.2 million in general damages for the emotional stress he endured, N114,992,096 (equivalent to 32 months’ salary) that the defendant should have paid him for his forced retirement, and a public apology published in two daily newspapers and two international newspapers.

The defendants, in their preliminary objection filed before the court, requested that the court decline jurisdiction to hear the suit, arguing that ExxonMobil is incorporated under the laws of the United States of America and, therefore, the Nigerian court lacks jurisdiction. In response, Ebede’s counsel argued that the company conducts its business in Nigeria through subsidiaries and also operates directly in the country, holding operating interests in several Oil Mining OML. He urged the court to dismiss the objection raised by the defendants.

In his ruling, the presiding judge, R. H. Gwandu, adjourned the case for hearing, stating that the court had jurisdiction to adjudicate on the issues raised in the claimant’s suit based on the subject matter and territorial considerations.