Damages

The law is settled that in a claim for wrongful dismissal, the measure of damages is prima facie the amount that the plaintiff would have earned had the employment continued according to the contract: NIGERIA PRODUCE MARKETING BOARD v. A. I. ADEWUMI (1972) 1 ALL NLR (Pt. 2) 433 at 437. Where the plaintiff was by terms of the contract, entitled to be given one month notice before the termination of his appointment by the employer, the defendant; the plaintiff is only entitled to be paid the amount he would have earned, or entitled to be paid, within the period of one month. That is the amount he would have earned within the period of the mandatory notice: WESTERN NIGERIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION v. JIMOH ABIMBOLA (1966) NMLR 381 at 382.

Where the parties have agreed that the contract of employment may be terminated by either party upon the giving of notice or the payment of the equivalent salary for the period of notice, the measure of damages for wrongful termination or dismissal is the amount the servant would have earned over the period of notice. See; Dudusola v. Nigeria Gas Co. Ltd. (supra); Chukwumah v. Shell Petroleum (1993) 4 NWLR (Pt. 289) 512; Fakuade v. O.A.U.T.H (supra); Osisanya v. Afribank (Nig.) Plc. (supra).

In the latter case, we stated the law as follows at p. 437:
In a claim for wrongful dismissal, the measure of damages is prima facie the amount that the plaintiff would have earned had the employment continued according to contract, Beckham v. Drake (1849) 2 H. L Cas 579 at pages 607-608. Where however the defendant, on giving the prescribed notice, has a right to terminate the contract before the end of the term, the damages awarded, apart from other entitlements, should be limited to the amount which would have been earned by the plaintiff over the period of notice, bearing in mind that it is the duty of the plaintiff to minimize the damage which he sustains by the wrongful dismissal.
The application of this principle was vividly demonstrated by this Court in the case of Western Nigeria Development Corporation v. Jimoh Abimbola, supra, where Ajegbo, JSC, (delivering the judgment of the Court), after stating the guiding principles, said at page 382: