The Chief Medical Director of Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri
formerly known as FMC, Dr. Kinsley Ihedioha Achigbu, the Minister of Health and other defendants to the alleged unlawful termination of appointments of Mr. Joachim Egerue, a former staff of the institution, were absent in court and failed to file their defence for substantive hearing despite the directive of Hon. Justice N.C. Ogbomnaya, the Presiding Judge of National Industrial Court, sitting in Owerri.
Mr Joachim Egerue, a former staff of the institution, had dragged the defendants to court in suit no NICN/OW/32/2025, for unlawful termination of his job based on audit report of the dental unit where he worked. According to him, the audit was carried out without his knowledge nor involvement; an exercise his lawyer Dr. Barr. Chris Nwadigo described as ” a witch-hunting special audit report of Dental Store of Dec, 2020″.
At the last hearing, the counsel to the defendants, Barr. Franklin Ninis, had argued that Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, one of the defendants, formerly known as Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, before its conversion, has no,”Juristic personality to be sued”, because according to him, it has not been gazetted, asserting also that the NIC has no powers to declare declaratory reliefs.
The Judge who lectured the counsel on the inherent powers of the court, described his argument as ” lack of intellectual diligence”, and directed him to file his defence for substantive hearing of the substantive case adjourned till March 28.
It was therefore surprising that on the adjourned date, none of the defendants, nor their counsels were present in court.
The counsel to the plaintiff, Dr Chris Nwadigo wondered why the defendants, who were duly represented in court on the day of the hearing and consented to the adjourned date, could deliberately stayed away from the court on the adjourned date.
