The National Industrial Court, Abuja, on Wednesday extended the tenure of the re-elected President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Innocent Bola-Audu, till June 15, 2029.
Justice Dame Rakiya Bosede Haastrup extended his tenure in the court’s judgment, while also awarding N70 million in damages in his favour.
The court further ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to recognise his office and allow him to administer and manage the finances of the association, an umbrella body of about 600,000 senior civil servants in Nigeria.
The judgment followed litigation that trailed the confirmation of Audu’s re-election after the association’s Emergency National Delegates Conference (NDC) held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, and a binding court judgment that had reinstated him.
ASCSN and Bola-Audu had sued Comrade Shehu Mohammed, Comrade Joshua Apebo, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, seeking redress over a factional dispute.
What the Court is saying
Delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Haastrup held that evidence before the court showed that Shehu Mohammed and Joshua Apebo were fully aware of the binding judgment of the National Industrial Court, which had been communicated to them by Bola-Audu, but instead directed members to ignore calls to attend election-related meetings.
The judge held that the second defendant, in concert with others, failed to give due regard to the court’s judgment, which had reinstated Bola-Audu, and instead misled the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The court also noted the position of the Attorney-General of the Federation that all parties were required to comply with the subsisting judgment of the court or proceed on appeal.
- Justice Haastrup affirmed that Bola-Audu, by the rules of the association, had the authority to summon the emergency meeting based on the court’s judgment and the customs of the association, as his tenure was still subsisting at the time of the re-election.
The judge held that there were “sufficient prevailing circumstances” to justify the extension of his tenure.
The court further observed that allegations of child trafficking had previously been raised against Bola-Audu, leading to his removal, but these allegations were dismissed by a trial court, which found them unproven.
The judge ruled that the over nine months Bola-Audu spent pursuing his reinstatement in court should be added to his tenure, extending it from August 10, 2028, to June 15, 2029.
The court declared that Bola-Audu is entitled to full recognition by all authorities and must be allowed to manage and administer the association’s accounts until his executive tenure expires in 2029.
A mandatory injunction was issued directing all parties and authorities to refrain from interfering with his role.
The court also declared the factional election conducted by Mohammed and Apebo null and void.
- Additionally, the judge awarded N70 million in general and aggravated damages against Shehu Mohammed and Joshua Apebo in favour of Bola-Audu for the embarrassment and psychological trauma caused to him.
Backstory
Nairametrics previously reported that Bola-Audu’s legal team had sued ASCSN, Bashir Alade Lawal, and Tommy Etim-Okon (1st to 3rd respondents), seeking a declaration that the emergency meeting of its Central Working Committee in March 2021—which directed him to step aside over criminal allegations filed by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)—be nullified so he could be reinstated.
- NAPTIP had arrested and arraigned Bola-Audu over alleged human trafficking offences, but he was eventually discharged by an FCT High Court.
- Despite his acquittal, members of the association who removed him refused to reinstate him as president.
- He subsequently approached the National Industrial Court for redress, seeking orders compelling ASCSN and its agents to ensure he completed his four-year tenure without interruption, among other reliefs.
- However, the defendants’ legal team urged the court to decline jurisdiction, arguing that the matter constituted an abuse of court process, as an appeal was pending against the FCT High Court judgment.
In her earlier ruling, the judge observed that the FCT High Court had, on March 15, 2021, ordered parties to maintain the status quo in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the claimant, but the defendants disobeyed the directive.
She further held that ASCSN ought to have reinstated the claimant since the basis for his removal had been struck out by a competent court.
The court subsequently reinstated Bola-Audu as the substantive National President of ASCSN until the completion of his tenure and ordered the defendants to pay N3 million in damages.
What You Should Know
Nairametrics also reported in 2024 that Bola-Audu was re-elected as national president of the association.
According to a communiqué issued by the association, stakeholders deliberated extensively on issues affecting the union, Nigerian workers, and the state of the nation, reaching several resolutions.
The NDC-in-session reviewed and commended the judgment of Justice O. O. Oyewunmi of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Suit No. NIC/ABJ/214/2022, which had earlier reinstated Bola-Audu as national president after years of litigation.
At the emergency meeting, delegates re-elected him for a second term.
