The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Benin Judicial Division, has ordered the Edo State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to reinstate Alfred Abhulimhen-Iyoha Esq, a Chief Magistrate, who was unlawfully placed on indefinite leave of absence for over seven years.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, October 16, 2025, by Hon. Justice A. A. Adewemimo in Suit No. NICN/BEN/24/2024 Between Alfred Abhulimhen-Iyoha v. Edo State Judicial Service Commission, the court declared that the Commission’s action was unconstitutional, arbitrary, and contrary to the provisions of the Edo State Civil Service Rules, 2006.
Abhulimhen-Iyoha had been sent on an unsolicited indefinite leave on June 29, 2017, after he challenged his alleged unlawful demotion from Chief Magistrate Grade I (Level 16) to Chief Magistrate Grade II (Level 15), even though he was due for promotion to Chief Magistrate (Special Grade) Level 17 effective January 1, 2017.
While his earlier suit (NICN/BEN/09/2017) challenging the demotion was still pending before the Akure Division of the Industrial Court, the Edo State JSC issued a letter sending him on indefinite leave. Despite his written protests dated June 30, 2017, and April 5, 2023, the Commission refused to reverse the decision.
Through his counsel, J. O. Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. of Aikpokpo, Okeregha & Co., the claimant filed a fresh suit in 2024, seeking declarations that the indefinite leave was punitive, unlawful, and null and void. The Edo JSC, represented by I. O. Kadiri, Esq. (Assistant Chief State Counsel) and A. O. Adams, Esq. (Senior State Counsel) from the Edo State Ministry of Justice, argued that the leave was to allow the claimant “time to prosecute his pending case.”
However, Aikpokpo-Martins countered that the Edo State Civil Service Rules, 2006, under Chapter 10, Section 2, Rule 100207, lists all permissible types of leave and contains no provision for an indefinite or court-proceeding-related leave of absence. He submitted that the defendant’s action was ultra vires, arbitrary, and unsupported by law.
Justice Adewemimo, in a detailed judgment, agreed with the claimant, ruling that the action of the Edo State JSC violated the principles of fair hearing and due process. The court noted that Abhulimhen-Iyoha was never afforded an opportunity to be heard before being removed from duty, describing the indefinite leave as punitive and a gross abuse of administrative power.
The court declared and ordered as follows:
Justice Adewemimo emphasized that the defendant’s action amounted to a de facto suspension without legal basis, depriving the claimant of his professional rights for years.
Speaking after the judgment, Aikpokpo-Martins hailed the decision as a “restoration of faith in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.” He described the verdict as “a lucid warning to public institutions and government agencies to respect the rule of law and refrain from oppressive administrative actions.”
He added that the Edo State JSC acted as “a law unto itself” by imposing an unsolicited leave the claimant never requested or applied for, thereby abusing its authority.
