Strike: ASUU appeals Industrial Court’s resumption order

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has appealed Justice Polycarp Hamman’s order directing lecturers to end their seven-month strike and return to the classroom, which was issued by the National Industrial Court in Abuja.

ASUU’s appeal was based on 14 grounds, according to their counsel, Mister Femi Falana. The motion asks for two reliefs, namely:

A) The leave to file the appeal pursuant to Section 243 of the Constitution that requires the party to seek a leave of court to appeal the judgement or ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC).

B) Seeking for a stay of execution of the orders of the court, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

The application was backed up by an affidavit that Samuel Ameh, a research assistant in Falana and Falana’s Chambers, testified to.

He testified that he received ASUU’s permission to swear under oath in the memo. ASUU and its members’ fundamental and other legal rights are affected by the aforementioned judgement, Ameh further noted in the affidavit.

In addition, he decided that the referral in question was incompetent, therefore the court below lacked jurisdiction to make the order.

ASUU has a very solid case and appeal, which the court should decide on one way or the other, according to new testimony. In order to avoid having the appeal dismissed, he consequently urged that the court preserve the issue at hand.