ASUU

ASUU STRIKE: FG ASKS COURT TO DISMISS ASUU’S CASE AGAINST THEM

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2022

The Court of Appeal Abuja Division will on Friday decide the fate of the two applications filed by the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), challenging the interlocutory injunction of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), asking members of the union to go back to work.

The Federal Government asked the appellate court to dismiss the appeal for being incompetent.

The court fixed the date for the ruling after hearing the submissions of the counsels to ASUU, Femi Falana and the Federal Government, James Igwe.

When the matter was called, Falana told the court that he filed the motion on notice for two main reliefs, the first for leave to appeal, dated September 28, 2022 and the second, for a stay of execution of the order of the lower court, dated September 23, 2022.

He told the court that they were withdrawing the stay of execution and sustaining the application for leave to appeal the ruling.

According to him, the application for leave is supported by 17 paragraph affidavit, two exhibits-ruling of (NICN) and proposed notice of appeal- and a written address in support of the application.

While noting that the Supreme Court had affirmed the right of people dissatisfied with the ruling of the NICN to appeal to the Court of Appeal, to reject the objection of the Federal Government on the grounds that the substantive matter is yet to be determined by the lower court.

Responding, Igwe said they filed a counter affidavit dated October 5, 2022 and supported by seven exhibits and 32-page written address, urging the court to dismiss the applicants’ application.

In a statement from the media office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, Igwe argued that the motion for stay of execution of the order of the lower court can no longer be withdrawn, since both parties have joined issues on the matter, urging the court to look at the application and dismiss it based on the balance of justice.

We are challenging the entire application. It is incompetent. Your Lordship cannot grant leave in an incompetent application. Both applications offend the rules of the Court. Order 6, Rule 4 is mandatory. We urge your lordships to hold that the entire application being in breach of the rules of this court is incompetent. The court cannot grant prayers in an incompetent application,” he said.

He maintained that there were no exceptional circumstances for which the court should grant the application of the applicants, more so when they approached the court with dirty hands, including the disobedience of the order of a competent court and refusal to file their defense by September 15, 2022 as ordered by the lower court on September 12, 2022.

Related Topics:ASUU ASUU Strike COURT FG

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ASUU

NLC, TUC, ASUU, Others Defy Court Order As They Begin Strike

Published

6 days ago

November 14, 2023

Pamilerin Fedpolygist

The NLC had on Monday announced the commencement of the industrial action from midnight of Monday, 13 November, in defiance to a restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court in Abuja on Friday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliates including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Tuesday, began a nationwide strike, in defiance to a restraining court order barring them from embarking on the industrial action.

The two major labour unions, NLC and TUC, had declared the strike, following the brutalisation of the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, in Imo State on 1 November. Mr Ajaero was attacked in Owerri, the state capital, during an NLC protest against the Imo State government over alleged maltreatment of workers in the state.

The unions on Monday directed their members to down tools across the country as from Tuesday.

This is despite the restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court, in Abuja, on Friday, stopping the labour unions from embarking on the strike. The judge, Benedict Kanyip, ordered the two major labour unions to stop their industrial action scheduled to commence 14 November.

The interim order followed an ex-parte request by the Nigerian government through the office of Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, due to the Labour unions’ threat to embark on strike.

Ignoring the court order, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, a professor of soil science, on Monday, directed compliance with the strike declaration in a letter to ASUU zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons across the country.

“As an affiliate of NLC, all members of our union are hereby directed to join this action of NLC to protect the interest of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the union. Zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons should immediately mobilise our members to participate in the action,” ASUU President, Mr Osodeke, wrote in a letter to zonal and branch chairpersons of the union.

When PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Osodeke if he was aware of the subsisting court order stopping the strike, he said the question should be directed to the NLC which called for the strike.

“Call the NLC, ASUU did not declare a strike, NLC declared the strike. Call NLC,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning.

But the NLC’s head of information, Benson Upah, did not respond to phone calls and messages sent to his line requesting for comments, as of the time of filing this report.

The labour unions had, on Monday, refused to acknowledge the court order while directing their members to withdraw their services as from Tuesday.

The post NLC, TUC, ASUU, Others Defy Court Order As They Begin Strike appeared first on Jomog.