THE Abuja Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has ordered the President of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Comrade Lawrence Amaechi, and all elected national officers of the union to stop parading themselves as national leaders of the union.
The Presiding Judge, His Lordship, the Honourable Justice O.O. Oyeyemi, in his judgement delivered on Thursday, January 13, 2022, in the suit between Comrade Yildet Dage Bigwan, as claimant, and Comrade Lawrence U. Amaechi (JP) and 15 other defendants, held that Comrade Amaechi and his colleagues in the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the union were never leaders of the union, stressing that they have been in office illegally.
The also granted Comrade Bigwan’s prayers seeking to nullify his suspension from office as State Secretary of the Adamawa State Council of NCSU on the premise that the NAC lacked the capacity or powers to act on behalf of the union as their election into office had earlier been nullified by an Order and a Judgement of the NIC, actions which had not been reversed by a superior.
Comrade Bigwan had sometime in March 2020 gone to the NIC asking it to determine whether the NAC of the NCSU, by the provisions of the union’s constitution the legal competence to occupy the offices of the union considering the 2019 Ruling and Judgment of the NIC in a matter between Comrade Benson Ekasa Vs. Comrade Kiri Mohammed and Others.
Comrade Bigwan also prayed the NIC to determine whether by the provisions of the union’s constitution the national officers in the NAC of the union have the legal competence or capacity to exercise the duties and powers of the union’s NAC to redeploy, query and suspend him considering the Order and Judgement of the NIC.
The claimant also asked the court to determine whether, based on the provisions of the union’s constitution, the then General Secretary of the union, Comrade Yahaya I. Ndako, has the legal competence, capacity and or status to occupy and exercise the duties and powers of the General Secretary of the union having been appointed on contract by the NAC; and whether having regard to the peculiar circumstances of this suit as well as the conduct of the national leadership’s failure to abide by the Order and Judgment of the court.
Comrade Bigwan prayed for the award of exemplary damages of five million naira in addition to other financial claims with regard to unpaid allowances he was entitled to.
Details of the judgement will be provided in a full report later…
