The National Industrial Court ruled on Monday that the ruling prohibiting the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, from carrying out their scheduled strike remains in effect.
According to Justice Olufunke Anuwe, the order, as granted on June 5, remains in effect awaiting the hearing and determination of the move on notice.
In addition, the court ordered that the parties maintain the status quo and deferred the case until July 20 for a hearing.
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Earlier, when the case was called, Mr Ochum Emmanuel, counsel for the Federal Government, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for Monday for the claimant to take its move on notice for an interlocutory injunction to prevent the defendants from going on strike.
He noted that now that the defendants have been served, he was ready to proceed with his motion.
Mr Marshall Abubakar, the defendants’ counsel, said that they had filed an application asking the court to vacate its order issued on June 5 preventing his clients from going on strike.
Abubakar further claimed that the claimant was served with the application on June 8, only to have them turn around and serve them with a counter-affidavit on Monday in court.
He went on to say that the claimant submitted the counter-affidavit on June 16 and told the bailiff not to serve it until Monday in court.
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When the court asked if the defense had been properly served, Abubakar said that he wasn’t sure, but that he will find out and do the needful.
He also requested a brief postponement to review the counter-affidavit and respond.
In response, Emmanuel rejected Abubakar’s request for adjournment and requested the court to allow him to take his motion on notice, which was scheduled for hearing.
The lawyer further stated that the federal government would never file a process and then tell a bailiff not to serve the opposing party.
He claimed that the bailiff served defence counsel in court on Monday because he filed the processes late on June 16.
In his motion, Emmanuel further claimed that the defendants were not properly before the court because they had not submitted a memorandum of appearance and had just come to ask the court to vacate the order it granted on June 5.
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He stated that the defendants cannot request an adjournment since they are not properly before the court.
Furthermore, he argued that if the court grants Abubakar’s request for an adjournment, it should also declare that the June 5 injunction prohibiting the defendants from going on strike remains in effect.
Abubakar said that Emmanuel’s application was unnecessary since the court had previously ordered that parties should maintain the status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive complaint.
He also informed the court that the parties planned to meet later on Monday to try to address the matter.
In its order, the court granted the application for delay, told the defendants to file their memorandum of appearance, and instructed the parties to keep the status quo.
According to the evidence, the defendants planned a statewide strike on June 7 to protest the elimination of fuel subsidies, which resulted in the increased Premium Motor Spirit pump price.
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As a result, the federal government filed the lawsuit to stop the defendants, claiming that the proposed strike would have a negative impact on society and the nation’s well-being.
Furthermore, the claimant noted that the strike has the potential to impair economic activity, particularly in the health and education sectors.
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