The National Industrial Court in Abuja has been asked to commit the Postmaster General of the Nigerian Postal Service, Tola Odeyemi, to prison for allegedly failing to comply with an earlier judgment ordering the payment of salaries and entitlements to a former employee.

The request is contained in Form 48 and Form 49, both dated February 23, 2026, filed by Akpama Ekwe, counsel to Sandra Saidu, whose appointment was allegedly terminated in 2004.

The Postmaster General of NIPOST and the agency were listed as judgment debtors in the court documents, according to Nairametrics.

According to the court filings, Saidu, through her lawyer, warned that unless the Postmaster General complies with the orders contained in the judgment delivered by Justice Z.B. Haastrup of the National Industrial Court in Abuja, the official could be found guilty of contempt of court and committed to prison.

Referring to the subsisting judgment, the lawyer argued that the court had declared the claimant’s compulsory retirement unlawful, holding that due process was not followed.

“The Claimant shall be reinstated to the position she would have been in but for her unlawful compulsory retirement, and she shall be paid all her salaries, emoluments, and entitlements from the date of her purported compulsory retirement until the date of this judgment,” the judgment partly reads.

The lawyer further stated that the court set aside the claimant’s purported compulsory retirement after finding that the defendants had implemented it retrospectively.

The dispute centres on claims and counterclaims over employment entitlements involving NIPOST.

Before the judgment delivered on February 23, 2026, NIPOST and the Postmaster General filed their defence, disputing Saidu’s claims.

According to the defendants, Saidu, who joined the agency in 1993, was transferred from Lagos to NIPOST’s Bauchi State office in 2004 and was expected to resume duty in April of that year. They alleged that she failed to report until more than a month later, leading to a report by her Area Manager and the issuance of a query.

The defendants also argued that although Saidu was granted another casual leave on September 6, 2004, she again failed to resume work, citing medical reasons but allegedly failing to provide a medical report or any supporting evidence.

NIPOST further alleged that the claimant absconded from duty for 17 years, from 2004 to 2021, before resurfacing to seek reinstatement and payment of salary arrears.

In response, the claimant asked the court to determine whether the defendants complied with due process in compulsorily retiring her and whether she was entitled to general damages.

In its judgment delivered in February 2026, the court ruled in favour of the former employee and ordered NIPOST to pay her all outstanding salaries and entitlements from October 2004 up to the date of the judgment.