The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed a Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by Pan African Towers Limited (PAT), a company backed by Verod Capital Management and development partners international, in the employment dispute instituted by its former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Azeez Amida.
In its ruling delivered on 21 July 2026 in Suit No. NICN/LA/143/2025: Mr. Azeez Amida v. Pan African Towers Limited, Honourable Justice Essien rejected PAT’s attempt to terminate the proceedings on jurisdictional grounds and awarded ₦500,000 costs against the company.
The NICN’s ruling allows the substantive case concerning Mr. Amida’s outstanding contractual entitlements under the parties’ Mutual Separation Agreement to proceed to hearing.
Court Rejects Jurisdictional Challenge
PAT had argued that the National Industrial Court lacked jurisdiction because the Mutual Separation Agreement required the parties to first pursue negotiation, mediation and arbitration before litigation.
The Court rejected that argument. In reaching its decision, the Court considered evidence showing that Mr. Amida had attempted to invoke the contractual dispute resolution process through correspondence and formal demands issued by his solicitors.
The Court found that PAT failed to meaningfully engage with those efforts before later seeking to rely on the same contractual provisions to challenge the Court’s jurisdiction.
According to evidence presented by Mr Amida’s team, a letter written by Adefolarin Ogunsanya, the Chairman of Pan African Towers Board and Partner at Development Partners International, had rejected Mr Amida’s legal counsel’s demand for an amicable resolution prior to the suit.
In addition, Mr Amida’s Legal team also presented multiple evidence of emails sent to Verod Capital in-house legal Counsel, Dipo Okuribido, which received no responses from January 2025, prior to the suit.
The Court held that PAT’s conduct was inconsistent with reliance on the contractual dispute resolution mechanism and that the company had waived its right to insist on arbitration after frustrating the agreed process.
In dismissing the Preliminary Objection, the Court concluded that PAT could not rely on an arbitration clause after failing to participate in the preliminary dispute resolution steps contemplated by the parties’ agreement.
Pan African Towers Yet to File Substantive Defence
The ruling marks the first judicial determination in the employment dispute. Since the proceedings commenced, Pan Atlantic Towers’ principal response had been to challenge the Court’s jurisdiction through a Preliminary Objection rather than file a substantive defence addressing the merits of Mr. Amida’s claims.
With that objection now dismissed, the National Industrial Court will proceed to hear the substantive dispute.
Costs Awarded Against PAT
The Court further awarded ₦500,000 against PAT in respect of the Preliminary Objection after dismissing the application for lacking merit. The substantive suit has been adjourned to 12 January 2027 for hearing.
Chronology of the Dispute
The ruling represents the latest development in a series of legal proceedings arising from Mr. Amida’s departure from Pan African Towers.
Following the execution of a Mutual Separation Agreement, Mr. Amida maintained that certain contractual entitlements remained outstanding. Before commencing legal proceedings, his legal representatives engaged PAT through correspondence and formal demand letters in an effort to resolve the matter in accordance with the dispute resolution provisions contained in the agreement.
When those efforts did not produce a resolution, proceedings were commenced before the National Industrial Court seeking payment of the outstanding contractual entitlements.
Rather than filing a substantive defence to the claims, PAT first challenged the Court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the contractual dispute resolution mechanism had not been exhausted.
The National Industrial Court has now rejected that objection, holding that PAT’s own conduct prevented it from relying on those provisions.
The ruling means that the case will now proceed to a full hearing on the merits of Mr. Amida’s claims.
Broader Litigation
The employment proceedings before the National Industrial Court exist alongside separate commercial proceedings at the Federal High Court involving Mr. Amida, Development Partners International, Verod Capital Management and other parties on matters relating to the ownership of Pan African Towers.
Those matters remain before the courts and will be determined independently based on their respective evidence and legal issues.
Commenting after the ruling, representatives of Mr. Amida’s legal team welcomed the Court’s decision.
“The Court has affirmed an important principle of contractual dispute resolution.
A party cannot frustrate the agreed process and later seek to rely on that same process to prevent a claim from being heard. We now look forward to presenting the substantive case before the Court.”
The legal team acknowledged that PAT may exercise any rights available to it under Nigerian law, including any appellate remedies, but stated that it remains fully prepared to proceed with the substantive hearing scheduled for January 2027.
