ABU Zaria: Court orders immediate reinstatement of 110 disengaged staff

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Monday, ordered immediate reinstatement of 110 disengaged staff of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria,Kaduna state. The court also ruled that appointments of the affected staff were illegally terminated in 1996.

The order was given in a judgement delivered by Justice Peter Lifu in Abuja, in a suit filed by the disengaged staff against the university.

The court ruled that “the purported termination was illegal, null void and of no effect whatsoever.’’

The judge ordered that the claimants be reinstated as bonafide staff of the university.

The order also mandated the university to pay the claimants all outstanding entitlements and allowances from the date of disengagement till the date of judgement.

The court held that the university should comply with all the recommendations of the 2004 and 2010 Presidential Visitation Panel on the university and undertake such recommendations as binding.

The 110 disengaged university staff had instituted a suit of illegal termination of appointment against the university in 2013.

The claimants joined the Minister of Education, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice in the suit.

Counsel to the claimants, Mr Femi Aedeji, had argued that his clients were not given fair hearing before their appointments were illegal terminated, adding that the action was carried out during the military era.

He further held that the claimants who were academic and non-academic staff of the university had served for over 20 years without blemish before the unlawful termination.

Adedeji expressed satisfaction with the judgement.

“The judgement was a healing to many wounds especially wounds incurred during the military regime,’’ he said.

Reacting to the judgment, counsels to the defendants’ expressed shock at the verdict, noting that all entitlements were paid the claimants before their termination.

Mr Aliemeke Ewere, the university’s counsel and Mrs Cordelia Otuya, counsel to the Minister of Education did not say if they would file for appeal.