BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abakaliki Judicial Division, has ordered the management of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki to pay N6.3 million to the university’s chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities as compensation for illegal suspension and withdrawal of financial benefits.
Justice Oluwakayode Arowosegbe gave the order while delivering judgement on the suit marked NICN/ABK/08/2022 filed by the leadership of ASUU against the management of the state-owned university.
Management of the University was accused to have, via radio announcement on November 18, 2021, suspended Professor Igwenyi Okorie, the union’s chairman from the university and banned him from entering the same while his salaries were withheld since March 2022.
The authorities were also accused of sealing the union’s office for alleged fractionalization.
Consequently, Prof. Ndubuisi Idenyi, the Chairman of Ethics and Conflict committee who called for a zoom meeting with members to resolve the issues, was also suspended by the defendants alongside three other members while their check-off and welfare dues were withheld and the union proscribed.
Justice Arowosegbe, while delivering judgement on the matter, declared the university’s actions as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
Citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended, the judge ordered the Ebonyi State University to pay a dissuasive compensation of N6 million to the ASUU EBSU Chairman, Professor Igwenyi, and Prof. Idenyi who were the second and third claimants respectively.
The Industrial Court ordered payment of arrears of salaries withheld to the two unionists and reinstated ASUU EBSU and all its representatives, including Igwenyi and Idenyi.
Arowosegbe noted that the university management lacked the authority to proscribe ASUU according to the Third Schedule Part C of the Trade unions Act, Cap T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
The court held that matters relating to trade unions are protected by Section 40 of the Constitution and the Trade Union Act fall within the Exclusive Legislative List, which is beyond the jurisdiction of the university management.
It therefore ordered the immediate reinstatement of the suspended lecturers as well as the unsealing of ASUU Secretariat at the CAS campus.
The university was directed to release withheld check-off dues from November 2021 and welfare dues from March 2022 until the date of judgment and a perpetual injunction was issued to prevent interference by the university in all ASUU’s lawful activities.
The court directed the payment of N300, 000 to five ASUU EBSU members who are second to sixth claimants as cost and arrears of their withheld salaries up till date.
The defendants are required to pay all monetary awards within thirty days of the judgment, as failure to comply would result in a 25 percent simple interest rate per annum that would begin to count on the judgement sums.
Reacting to the judgement, the vindicated ASUU chairman thanked the court, saying, “The judgement is indeed pleasing.”
He added, “The court came up with judgement to the extent that it has used its own orders to reverse the unlawful suspension and a whole lot of other things. I thank God Almighty for using the court to bring justice to the injured.”
