A Nigerian citizen, Mrs Ramatu Umar Bako, has dragged the British Council before an Abuja High Court over alleged racism and wrongful termination of contract of employment.

The plaintiff is also praying the court to award the sum of N303 million as special and general damages from the British Council over an alleged “illegal” and controversial dismissal from her job as Public Diplomacy Portfolio Manager on April 1 2010.

Proceeding, however,  was stalled at the instance of counsel for the British Council of Nigeria and Ben Fisher, Patrick Osu, who requested an adjournment to enable him to respond to the plaintiff’s amended writ of summons.

Earlier, counsel for the plaintiff, Josiah Daniel-Ebune, had informed the court that the defendants in the matter had been served with the amended writ of summons.

Particularly, he said, in line with the ruling of the court, the second defendant, Mr Ben Fisher, was served out of jurisdiction by substituted means.

In her writ of summons, the plaintiff, a lawyer by profession, said she was employed by the council on November 19, 2007 and was dismissed in 2010 for allegedly “spreading malicious rumours against a colleague.”

She said going by her letter of offer of employment dated November 19, 2007, she was offered a continued indefinite term of employment subject to gross misconduct, only and was expected, save for the grounds of misconduct or one month notice of termination to be in the said employment until she voluntarily retires or reaches the retirement age under the terms of the contract.

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