How foreign company awarded multi-billion contracts by Benue govt exploits Nigerian workers

On a humid morning on Tuesday, 18 February, 23-year-old Isaac Kanshio set out for work as he had done almost every day since joining Bauhaus Global Investment in 2024. He never expected that the day would alter his future significantly.

BAUHAUS is a Lebanese construction company with headquarters in Beirut and operations in Nigeria.

“We work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, except Sunday,” Mr Kanshio told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview.

The firstborn in a family of four, he had just completed secondary school and was waiting for university admission. With his father earning little and his mother struggling to support the family, he felt compelled to work. On 3 September 2024, Bauhaus hired him as a security guard on ₦31,000 per month, far below the ₦70,000 minimum wage that Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu signed into law two months earlier.

The company did not issue him an employment letter. Instead, he filled out a form that stated his monthly salary but did not include any details about his terms of engagement.

In February 2025, he was transferred to the carpentry section, doubling his salary to ₦62,000 monthly, still below the minimum wage.

However, barely two weeks into the new role, tragedy struck.

That morning, on 18 February, the company’s head of carpentry, a Lebanese identified as Ahmad, instructed Mr Kanshio and his colleague, Terseer Zeeku, to board a Hilux van heading to Yaikyo, about 10 kilometres from Makurdi, where a new road was being constructed. Heavy tools, including iron rods and other construction materials, had been loaded into the open back of the van.

Somewhere along the Makurdi–Yaikyo road, the van had an accident and somersaulted. When Mr Kanshio regained consciousness hours later, he found himself in New Epic Hospital, Makurdi, bruised, bleeding, and disoriented.

He was in the hospital for more than a week. Though the company footed the hospital bills, Mr Kanshio said it did not send anyone to check on him after discharge. Even feeding money during his hospitalisation was only provided after protests.

“The company paid (me) ₦15,000 for nearly two weeks of hospitalisation. Officially, no project manager visited us. The only representative who showed up was an accountant who came solely to pay the (hospital) bills,” he said.

Mr Kanshio was discharged while not fully recovered — his leg dislocated, his ankle damaged, and his head wounds unhealed.

“My knee was burning with pain, I could hardly stand, yet they said we should go home,” he recalled.

In June, while still bedridden, the company struck Mr Kanshio’s name off its payroll.

“When I went to complain, the accountant told me it was company policy to pay for only five months after an accident,” he said.

Billion-naira contracts, poverty wages

Ironically, the Lebanese company, which pays many of its Nigerian workers below the national minimum wage and denies them labour rights, is a major contractor with the Benue State Government.

Findings by PREMIUM TIMES show that it is currently handling several major public works in the state. These include the ₦6 billion Makurdi High-Level underpass project, and the extension and dualisation of the Wurukum–Airforce Base Road. The latter, which involves the construction of a five-span bridge at Mu, was awarded to the company for ₦68.3 billion. Another contract, the upgrade of the Mbawuar–Bako–Negher road and a spur to Mbaakon, was awarded at ₦73.9 billion.

Yet, workers directly engaged in the execution told PREMIUM TIMES they earn as little as ₦30,000 a month, many without written contracts, health cover, or compensation when injured.

The situation underscores a deeper question of accountability: how a firm entrusted with such vast public resources can subject local workers to conditions described by many as exploitative and demeaning.

Hand paralysed

Mr Zeeku, who sat beside Mr Kanshio in the Hilux van when they had the accident, is a 40-year-old widower and father of three. His right hand was paralysed in the crash, leaving him unable to continue with physical work. He was also sacked in June and now lives with his relatives in Jalingo, Taraba State.

In August, Mr Zeeku’s uncle, Moses Ndera, and Mr Kanshio went to the company’s head office in Makurdi to seek their reinstatement.

“When I met the project manager, I tried to introduce myself and explain what happened to Terseer, but the man interrupted me, shouting, ‘Tell me what you are here for, I don’t have time! You know your brother was just a casual worker, he said before walking away.” Mr Ndera described the encounter as disheartening.

‘I was in serious pain’

Nineteen-year-old Godwin Igoche, a 200-level accounting student at Benue State University, Makurdi, joined the construction company in the second week of August. The first child in a family of five, the teenager took the job during the holidays to earn some money for his education.

On 23 August, Mr Idoche reported to work as usual. Although employed as a carpenter, he was instructed to load concrete slabs — massive precast blocks made of cement, iron, and gravel used to construct bridges and culverts. Each slab weighed hundreds of kilogrammes, and the task required specialised lifting equipment and protective gear for the workers. Mr Idoche and other workers were ordered to manually load the slabs into a flatbed truck designed for construction materials, not for carrying people.

Mr Idoche was stacking the slabs into the truck when one of the iron fasteners securing a slab came loose, and the concrete block brushed his left foot. None of the workers had safety boots, as the company did not provide them with any.

“I was in serious pain. I thought they were taking me to the hospital,” Mr Idoche recounted. Instead, he was taken to Bauhaus’s main office, opposite JS Tarkaa Foundation, Makurdi, and handed over to the company’s first aid officer. “The lady rubbed a small cream on my leg, gave me some medicine, and told me to go home. None of the company’s officials called to check on me,” he said.

Mr Idoche had worked for just a week, on a daily wage of ₦2,400. Yet even that meagre pay was withheld after the accident. “It was my mom who kept buying drugs because we couldn’t afford hospital bills,” he explained. “I cannot do anything strong right now. School is about to resume, but I don’t know what to do,” he said.

“They treat Nigerians like slaves”

Emmanuel Verem joined Bauhaus in 2024, after years of working with construction firms such as Julius Berger and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). What he encountered there shocked him. “Once you are not a Lebanese, you are a slave to them,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Verem was employed on a monthly salary of ₦120,000. But throughout his stay, he alleged, the company never paid him the full amount. “Sometimes they paid ₦90,000, sometimes ₦80,000. The highest I ever received from Bauhaus was ₦105,000,” he said.

Mr Verem, too, was not issued an employment letter. He added that workers were not issued pay slips or given a breakdown of their salaries, leaving them unable to track deductions.

He also said workers are slammed with “surcharges.” When they complain, “they would say, ‘We surcharged you for Sunday,’ even though I was never supposed to work on Sundays,” he added.

The provision of diesel was another flashpoint. In standard construction firms, Mr Verem said, drivers monitor diesel supplies to their trucks and sign off on the volume. But he alleged Bauhaus did things differently. “They usually put diesel in when drivers have left the trucks. If you complained, they sack you.”

In October 2024, Mr Verem was working on the High-Level Underpass project in Makurdi when his truck ran out of diesel. He was charged ₦50,000 but refused to accept the “daylight exploitation.”

“When the project manager arrived, my supervisor pulled him aside. They spoke in Lebanese. After their discussion, I was told to pack up my things and get paid off,” he said. “I was not allowed to explain myself. The only thing I heard was the accountant being called to pay me off. You don’t have the right to complain at Bauhaus. Once you do, you are sacked.”

“In Ihugh, Vandeikya Local Government Area, where the company is constructing roads, they pay some workers as little as ₦30,000 per month. These locals cannot complain. If they do, they are sacked immediately. This company treats Nigerians like slaves,” he repeated, his voice hardened with anger.

Forced to work during holidays

Under Nigerian law, work during public holidays is classified as overtime and attracts compensation. Section 13 of the Labour Act requires that overtime arrangements be clearly spelt out in employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements. At the same time, Section 1 and 4 of the Public Holidays Act mandates that employees are entitled to national holidays. The law guarantees at least six working days of paid annual leave for every worker after 12 months of continuous service (Section 18).

While Mr Kanshio said that he did not work on Sundays when he worked at the company, investigations by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that Bauhaus compels many of its workers to work during holidays and Sundays without compensation.

After the Nigerian government declared 5 September a public holiday to mark Eid al-Mawlid, the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, this reporter observed dozens of Bauhaus workers working at several of the company’s construction sites in Makurdi. One of the workers, who requested anonymity for fear of dismissal, said working on public holidays without compensation was routine.

“If you refuse, they will sack you. You know some of us travel from different states to come and work here. If you are sacked, what will you be doing again? We obey them. We are more like slaves to these people.”

How company abuses workers’ labour rights

Under Nigerian laws, every person engaged by an employer — whether on a permanent, casual, or apprenticeship basis — is regarded as an employee. Although there is no statutory definition of “casualisation” or “casual work” under the Labour Act, the Act provides that a worker should not be employed for more than three months without the formal recognition of such employment, evidenced by a written statement stating the terms and conditions of employment by the employer.

However, in a case between Owena Mass Transportation Co. Ltd and Okonogbo, the Court of Appeal defined a casual employee as a worker engaged for under six months and paid at the end of each day.

Section 7 of the Labour Act requires employers to issue a written contract to all employees within three months of engagement. This requirement applies even to casual workers whose employment stretches beyond that period, ensuring clarity on terms, conditions, and rights at work.

But findings by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that Bauhaus routinely ignores this legal obligation. A casual worker employed by the company in February 2024 disclosed in August 2025 that he did not have a written contract with the company. “They didn’t give us anything. No written employment. They won’t even allow us to form a union to protect our interests,” the worker said, requesting anonymity for fear of dismissal.

“Sometimes in 2024, some workers came together and started agitating for a labour union. Bauhaus officials asked them to write their names and submit. All of them were sacked.”

Sacked over unionism

Grace Abu (not her real name), a casual worker at the company who now operates a point-of-sale (POS) business at one of its sites, recounted how several workers lost their jobs after trying to form a union to defend their rights. “Those who begged were taken back, but no one talks about a union anymore.”

Bauhaus ignores FOI request

In late August, PREMIUM TIMES attempted to reach the company’s project manager in Benue State. A reporter visited the company’s office but was denied access. The security man at the gate claimed the manager was not around. While the reporter waited, the manager drove in, yet the guard repeated that he was absent.

Days later, a worker at the construction site told PREMIUM TIMES that the manager was on site. When the reporter hurried there, security personnel again blocked entry and refused access to him.

On 12 September 2025, the reporter finally encountered the project manager, Charbel Alammar, a Lebanese. The meeting took place while the reporter was submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The letter asked why the company continues to engage Nigerian workers without written contracts, in defiance of Section 7 of the Labour Act. It also asked for the company’s policy on workplace accidents and compensation, and the number of Nigerians employed under casual arrangements across its projects in Benue State.

After going through the letter, the manager shouted, “Nothing in this is true. Nothing is true.” The reporter tried to explain that the request was made to allow the company to provide explanations, but the manager dismissed him, saying, “This PREMIUM TIMES, I never heard that name before. You can write whatever you want.”

The company did not respond to the request by 19 September, when the seven-day window expired. Three days later, PREMIUM TIMES delivered a reminder, which was also ignored.

The reporter persisted by sending the FOI reminder notice through Bauhaus Global Investment’s official email ([email protected]). As of the time this report was filed, the company had yet to respond.

Union promises to investigate

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Benue State, Terungwa Igbe, about how the union protects the rights of casual workers at Bauhaus.

Mr Igbe said the chairman of the industry union had not brought the matter to his attention.

“However, I am going to do my own investigation. I will reach out to the state chairman on construction and, if the claims are true, my office will take appropriate action,” he said.

He further explained that while the Labour Act mandates employers not to retain a worker for more than three months without formal recognition through a written statement of terms and conditions, enforcement of the law remains weak as default is not criminalised.

“We will enforce that in our state if the National Assembly makes a law to criminalise casual labour in the country. For now, it is not yet a law,” Mr Igbe said.

Benue Assembly weighs in

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Benue State House of Assembly, Elias Audu, said the legislature usually questions contractors on worker welfare during oversight visits.

“Anytime we go on oversight of these companies, we ask them what they are doing to protect the interests of people working under them. Unfortunately, what you are telling me now has not been officially reported to us,” Mr Audu said.

He added that he would draw the attention of the House Standing Committee on Works, Housing and Transport to the issue, noting that the committee was in a better position to provide further clarification.

State government silent

PREMIUM TIMES called the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Tersoo Kula, but received no response. We also did not receive a response to a follow-up message stating our findings and requesting the government’s position.

Between legal promises and brutal reality

Existing laws place liability on employers for workplace injuries. Section 12 of the Labour Act, 2004, and Section 73 of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA), 2010 guarantee that workers deserve protection, medical support, and fair compensation when injured.

Employment and labour lawyer Jamiu Akolade explained that the ECA broadens the legal definition of “employee” to cover those under temporary, part-time, apprenticeship, or casual contracts, guaranteeing protection.

“In Abel v. Trevi Foundation Nigeria Limited, the Court held that even a contract staff member was entitled to compensation for injuries sustained at work. Similarly, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in Patovilki Industrial Planners Limited V. National Union of Hotels and Personal Services Workers, upheld the right of casual workers to unionise, stressing that temporary status does not strip them of constitutional labour rights.” Mr Akolade cited.

Yet the experiences of Messrs Zeeku, Kanshia and Igoche reflect a different reality. Mr Kanshio suffered a damaged leg, and Mr Zeeku had a paralysed arm while at work, but they were denied proper treatment and compensation by a company doing lucrative business with their state government.