A former acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Dauda has approached the National Industrial Court in Abuja to challenge his dismissal.
Dauda in a suit instituted through his counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN) also prayed for an order of the court reinstating him as a Director and the Acting DG of the NIA. He joined the present DG of NIA and the NIA as defendants in the suit.
He prayed the court for an order for the payment of his salaries and entitlements from the period of his “unlawful dismissal” to the point of his reinstatement.
Dauda asked the court for a declaration that the procedure adopted by the defendants in the process leading to his dismissal fell short of the provisions of Articles 8(1) and (2) of the National Securities Agency Act,1986 and it is therefore null and void.He also prayed the court for a declaration that by the virtue of the provisions of Articles 8(1) and (2) of the same Act, retired directors and former members of the NIA are not competent to sit as members in the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee.
Dauda further asked the court to declare that the failure of the defendants to set up a competent Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee to look into the allegations against him was a violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing and that the purported letter of his dismissal issued by the defendants on March 6, 2018 was unlawful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
The case was yet to be assigned to a judge and a date has yet to be fixed for hearing.
