Industrial Court Orders ASUU To Call Off Strike
THE National Industrial Court has ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its seven-month old strike and the striking lecturers to return to the classrooms.
The lecturers have been on strike since February 14, this year, with their students at home at the expense of their academic dreams, even as some universities contend with a backlog of academic sessions.
In the suit filed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, the government prayed for an order for ASUU to call the strike.
Justice Polycarp Hamman, in his ruling, held that the court determined the application based on issue two, as formulated by the claimants, adding: “The ASUU by themselves, members, agents, servants or anyone privy to them, is hereby restrained from taking further step or taking any action or otherwise any strike action, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
“The court, in addition, finds merit in the application for Interlocutory Injunction brought by the claimants.”
Hamman said in granting an injunction, certain requirements, such as existence of legal rights, balance of convenience, conduct and evidence of damages and loss needed to be met by the applicant seeking reliefs, dismissing the argument of Counsel to ASUU, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on the issue that Mr. Okechukwu Wampa was not qualified to depose to the Claimant’s affidavit.
Falana had argued in the Defendant’s counter-affidavit that Wampa’s deposition was based on hearsay.
But the court ruled that Wampa, being a legal officer employed by the Attorney General of the Federation and deployed to the Ministry of Labour and Employment as a Legal Adviser, could depose in the issue and could offer legal advice in the matter.
The Judge, in resolving the issue, cited Section 115 (1) (2) of Evidence Act, 2011 and Section 12(2) of NICN Act, 2006.
The court, while addressing the issue of competency of the referral raised by Falana, ruled that the issue will be delved into when taking the Defendant’s preliminary objection application and during the hearing of the substantive suit, adding that the balance of convenience tilted to the Claimants based on paragraph 3,5,6 and 7 of their affidavit, which cited the plight of students who ought to have graduated still in school as the result of the strike and the Claimants who owns the public universities that are on strike as balance of convenience.
The court also ruled that the intellect of students who have been out of school for several months equated irreparable loss and damages were the facilities that have been dormant for months and discountenanced the argument of the defendant, which submitted that the urgency of the matter was self-induced.
Falana had earlier prayed the court for an accelerated hearing in the suit instead of granting an interlocutory injunction, but the court differed that it was not self-induced, as parties had been in negotiation all the while until the defendant declared the strike as indefinite on August 29.
The court, therefore, held that the conduct of the claimants were not reprehensible, saying that granting an injunction was at the discretion of the court, which found the application meritorious on the strength of Section 256 of the Constitution, Section 18(1e) of the Trade Disputes Act and Section 17 of the NICN proceeding, as shown by the claimants
It awarded no cost, adding that the court will be sent back to the president of the court to be re-assigned, as the court ends its vacation by September 27.
Apart from ASUU, also joined as a claimant in the suit, is the Minister of Education.
