The lawsuit brought by Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been postponed.
Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Abuja heard the case, on Monday, September 12.
The Federal Government requested that the National Industrial Court force ASUU to end its seven-month strike.
Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, has joined the lawsuit as a claimant, while Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the president of ASUU, is the only defendant.
Human rights advocate Ebunolu Adegboruwa, SAN, informed the court that he was representing the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and that he had filed a lawsuit on the same subject matter before the same court when the item that was scheduled for mention came up.
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He added that SERAP was the claimant and the Federal Government was the defendant in the lawsuit NICN/ABJ/269/2022.
In order to avoid multiple lawsuits on the same topic being heard by the same court, Adegboruwa then applied for the consolidation of the current lawsuit and the addition of SERAP as a defendant.
Premature Application
Counsel to the claimant, Mr T.A Gazali, SAN, in response, said the application was premature and added that there was no need for SERAP to pray to be joined in a suit, orally, in a matter that did not have its name on the cause list.
Mr Femi Falana, SAN, counsel to ASUU, in his response, informed the court that both counsels had informed him on Monday that they were both filing some papers.
Falana, in addition, urged the court to step down the matter to enable both counsels to file their papers and then return at a later date after which he would have responded to the claimant’s process.
Adegboruwa replied that the defendant had not denied the existence of the suit SERAP filed and served on them.
Gazali, on his part, also informed the court that his process would be filed Monday, and Falana said he would need three days to reply to the process.
The judge, in his ruling, adjourned the matter until Friday, for further mention.
He also directed that the claimant should file, serve his process, and the defendant to also file and serve his response before the adjourned date.
Hamman, in addition, ruled that SERAP’s application to be joined in the suit was premature.
The suit filed by the claimant is also seeking the court to give the matter an accelerated hearing in order to bring the dispute to an end.
The claimant, also, in the instrument of referral, is praying the court to;
“Inquire into the legality or otherwise of the on-going prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members which had continued even after apprehension by the Minister of Labour and Employment.
“Interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18, LFN 2004 especially as it applies to cessation of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour end Employment and conciliation is on-going”.
