A former employee of TotalEnergies, Mrs. Oghenero Ozobeme, has raised serious allegations against the oil giant, accusing the company of manipulating legal procedures to frustrate her pursuit of justice.
She filed a suit against the company for medical negligence and unfair termination but claims the judicial system is failing her.
Mrs. Ozobeme revealed that she has been waiting for six months for a court date after filing an appeal to challenge the ruling of the National Industrial Court.
She alleges that the delay is deliberate and part of a wider effort to deny her justice.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, TotalEnergies terminated her employment without explanation.
“The termination letter was delivered to me at home during the COVID-19 restrictions,” she said.
She recalled that the letter came from the company’s Managing Director, even though her line manager had assigned her tasks earlier that day while she worked from home.
The timing raised suspicions for her, as it coincided with some senior management staff being subpoenaed to testify in court.
“I was shocked and confused,” Mrs. Ozobeme recounted.
She believes her termination was a retaliatory move orchestrated to weaken her case.
The initial lawsuit, filed at the National Industrial Court under case number NICN/LA/186/2018, accused TotalEnergies of corporate misconduct and medical negligence.
However, the court ruled against her, a judgment she described as riddled with “deliberate false submissions and misrepresentations” made by TotalEnergies and its legal representatives.
“The judgment relied on deliberate false depositions by TotalEnergies and their lawyers,” she claimed in a statement to journalists.
One key point of contention was the company’s claim about a Voluntary Severance Package (VSP).
According to Mrs. Ozobeme, TotalEnergies argued that the VSP was an optional retirement or resignation benefit available to employees, as outlined in their Collective Agreement.
But she firmly rejected this, stating, “The 2020 VSP is not recognized under the employment contract or labor laws, and it was never presented to the court as evidence.”
She argued that this misrepresentation was pivotal in the unfavorable ruling delivered by Justice Professor Elizabeth Oji.
Determined to seek justice, Mrs. Ozobeme filed an appeal at the Lagos Court of Appeal under case number CA/LAG/PRE/ROA/CV/407M1/24.
But her efforts have hit a wall, with no court date scheduled for over six months.
“This is a clear denial of justice,” she lamented.
She also petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to investigate the lawyers representing TotalEnergies for “infamous conduct in a professional respect.”
In her words, “There must be accountability, not just for the company but also for those enabling its actions through legal misrepresentation.”
Mrs. Ozobeme’s battle with TotalEnergies highlights broader concerns about delays in Nigeria’s judicial system and the challenges faced by individuals taking on powerful corporations.
Her case also brings attention to labor rights and corporate accountability, especially during sensitive periods like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The courts should be a place where everyone, regardless of their opponent’s size, can expect fair treatment,” she said.
She has called for urgent judicial reforms to address delays that leave litigants in limbo for extended periods.
