The National Industrial Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ruled that Radix Pension Managers Ltd must pay its former Managing Director, Kunle Adeboye, a total sum of N57 million and $21,000 in severance packages, salary arrears, and other benefits that had been withheld.
In a judgment delivered on November 19, 2024, by Justice R.H. Gwandu, the court ordered the company to pay Adeboye various amounts, including N15 million for a status car (prorated over three years), N25.8 million for severance pay, N3 million for an economy-class ticket to the UK for three years, vacation estacode of $21,000, and N813,543 for club membership and 2017 medical expenses, among others.
The court also ordered Radix Pension to pay Adeboye additional amounts for his 2020 leave allowance, medical expenses, and passage, totaling over N1.6 million.
Furthermore, the company was instructed to pay N1 million for 2021 Q1 quarterly allowance, N1.03 million for three months’ salary in lieu of notice, N2.7 million for salary deductions between April and August 2020, and N5.4 million for unused annual vacation.
In total, the payments cover 14 reliefs sought by the claimant.
Adeboye, who voluntarily resigned from the company citing corporate governance issues, filed the case after numerous attempts to resolve the matter amicably were ignored by Radix Pension.
The company, a licensed Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) under the National Pension Commission (PenCom), has faced multiple lawsuits from former employees concerning unpaid severance packages, with several cases pending between 2019 and 2021.
Many of these cases involved staff from IGI Pensions, a legacy PFA acquired by Radix Capital Partners, who alleged that the company had failed to fulfill its severance agreements despite assurances to PenCom that the obligations would be met.
Adeboye’s legal representation, provided by the law firm of renowned human rights lawyers Femi and Funmi Falana, emphasized that the case was straightforward and should not have required prolonged litigation.
Taiwo Olawanle, from Falana Chambers, stated that despite the claimant’s willingness to settle the matter without court involvement, Radix Pension’s dismissive response to multiple correspondences led to the legal action.
The company, according to Olawanle, failed to make reasonable concessions, which prolonged the resolution.
One former employee of IGI Pensions, who had a similar experience with Radix Pension, remarked that this case epitomizes the company’s typical approach of deflecting responsibility and forcing employees to resort to legal action.
She shared her own struggles with receiving severance pay, which took five years in staggered payments despite assurances from Radix Capital Partners to PenCom.
