Dantata & Sawoe Faces Labour Controversy Over Unpaid Wages

Dantata & Sawoe Under Fire Over Alleged €380,000, $3,500 Pay Dispute

A major contractor now finds itself facing a blunt question of trust after 12 former expatriate staff accused Dantata & Sawoe of leaving behind a trail of unpaid salaries, allowances and final entitlements allegedly worth €380,000 and $3,500. What makes the dispute sharper is the paper trail: appointment and termination documents that, on the face…

Atlantic Post

June 19, 2026

4–6 minutes

A fresh labour row has put one of Nigeria’s best-known construction firms under an unforgiving spotlight, after 12 former expatriate employees accused Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company (Nigeria) Limited of withholding a combined €380,000 and $3,500 in salaries, allowances, entitlements and exit benefits said to be due after their appointments were terminated.

According to SaharaReporters, the affected workers were disengaged at different times between 2022 and 2025, yet the money allegedly remained unpaid despite contractual provisions governing their salaries and final settlement on exit.

The workers named in the complaint are Wenz Markus, Milic Negovan, Madler Sven, Kojic Dragan, Kovacevic Goran, Gehlen Hermann, Erdemir Ocal, Rittner Richard, Ozturk Yasar, Stanisic Mico, Jerkic Stevo and Lima Francesco.

Their case, as presented by SaharaReporters, is not merely about delayed payment. It is about whether a company that publicly presents itself as a long established, professionally run employer honoured the terms it set out in black and white.

Dantata & Sawoe’s official website describes it as a leading construction company with more than 40 years’ experience and says it upholds integrity and provides “an ethical work environment” for employees.

The documents cited in the report appear to strengthen the workers’ argument that the dispute is rooted in contractual promises, not casual employment expectations.

One appointment letter issued to Rittner Richard as Plant Technician on 20 April 2017 reportedly stated that the company “accepts full immigration responsibilities on your behalf” and that remuneration would follow the agreed figure subject to tax deductions under Nigerian rules.

It also said he would be entitled to vacation and that working hours would be guided by statutory regulations in force in Nigeria.

An amendment to the contract of Hermann Gehlen, also cited in the report, reportedly fixed a 40-hour working week and set out overtime payments in precise terms.

According to the document, 50 working hours would attract 20 per cent of basic salary, 55 hours 27.5 per cent, 60 hours 35 per cent, and every additional hour beyond that 0.5 per cent of basic salary.

The same amendment reportedly kept his basic monthly salary at €5,650 while stating that his monthly foreign service allowance, social compensation and tax arrangement would remain unchanged. These are the sort of terms that leave little room for ambiguity once service ends.

The termination papers cited by SaharaReporters are equally important because they appear to acknowledge a final settlement obligation.

A notification issued to Kovacevic Goran on 6 December 2024 reportedly said his contract would end on 10 January 2025 and promised that “Travelling back to your home country will be arranged by the Management” and that “The settlement of salary, allowance and leave will be done in a final statement.”

Yet the workers now say that promise was not kept. If that is correct, the issue moves from a routine exit to a potentially serious breach of contract and trust.

That is why the May 29, 2026 demand letter from lawyer Deji Adeyanju matters so much. Acting for the 12 former employees, he reportedly told the company that the workers were engaged under valid and binding contracts, that they performed their duties in good faith, and that Dantata & Sawoe had “willfully failed and refused” to pay what was due.

The demand quantified the alleged shortfall at €380,000 and $3,500 and warned that if payment was not made within seven days, legal proceedings would follow.

The sums claimed are substantial and, considered individually, suggest a pattern rather than a one off omission.

SaharaReporters says the alleged arrears break down as follows: Wenz Markus, €60,000; Milic Negovan, €20,000; Madler Sven, €90,000; Kojic Dragan, €17,000; Kovacevic Goran, $3,500; Gehlen Hermann, €80,000; Erdemir Ocal, €6,000; Rittner Richard, €10,000; Ozturk Yasar, €25,000; Stanisic Mico, €4,000; Jerkic Stevo, €17,000; and Lima Francesco, €51,000.

If accurate, this is not a token dispute. It is a serious cross border labour claim involving men who, according to the report, have already left Nigeria while waiting for money they say was contractually promised.

The optics are especially damaging because Dantata & Sawoe’s own public profile stresses professionalism and institutional discipline.

Its board page lists Alhaji Mubarak A. Dantata as Chairman and Mr. Udo Heidschuster as Managing Director, which is notable because the documents cited in the dispute also name Mr Heidschuster in the appointment and termination papers.

That gives the matter a direct line to the company’s top management. At the time of writing, no public response was visible on the company’s reviewed website pages.

There is also a wider business context. This is not the first time Dantata & Sawoe has been dragged into a public debt fight.

Nairametrics reported in July 2024 that the Federal High Court in Abuja approved the placement of a winding up advertisement against the company over an alleged $1,257,592.83 debt linked to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd, and in December 2025 another report said the company had paid a $1.4 million settlement and the liquidation case was struck out.

That history will inevitably colour public perception of the latest labour allegations, even though each case must stand on its own facts.

For now, the central question is simple. Were these expatriate workers paid everything their contracts promised, or did a major contractor leave foreign staff chasing final entitlements across borders and through lawyers?

Until Dantata & Sawoe gives a full public answer, the allegations will continue to raise uncomfortable questions about payroll discipline, contract enforcement and corporate accountability in Nigeria’s construction sector.