NUT vs ASUSS: Osun NUT Reacts To Supreme Court Verdict, Urges Members To Remain Calm

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

The Nigeria Union of Teachers, (NUT) Osun State Wing has urged its members across the state to remain calm, saying the union remains unshakable.

Osun State Wing of the NUT was reacting to the recent supreme court verdict delivered on Friday, January 15th 2021 over lingering legal battle between the union and Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools of Nigeria (ASUSS).

The apex court had in its ruling nullified on technical grounds a decision of the Court of Appeal granting an Abuja Federal High Court the jurisdiction to entertain a 2008 suit brought before it by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) against the registration of a trade union to be known as Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools of Nigeria (ASUSS).

In a statement issued on Sunday and made available to newsmen in Osogbo, the state Chairman of NUT and Secretary, Comrade Wakeel Amudah and Comrade B. Olukayode Salami urged members of the union to remain calm, expressing optimism that truth shall surely prevails at the end of the day.

According to the statement, many have erroneously misinterpreted the verdict given by the apex court that the Supreme Court had restricted NUT’s control or jurisdiction to pre-primary and primary schools in the country while awarding jurisdiction over secondary schools to ASUSS.

This interpretation according to the statement has led to a wrong conclusion in some labour circles that NUT’s membership by implication has drastically shrunk and restricted to pre-secondary schools.

Giving the insight of the judgement, the statement indicates:
“The fact, however, as contained in the apex court, indicate that the five – person panel of Supreme Court Justices only nullified on technical ground the earlier decision of the Appeal Court and asked the President of Court of Appeal to constitute a fresh panel to re-entertain the interlocutory appeal brought before it by ASUSS challenging the Federal High Court to hear a matter which was filed before it by the NUT in 2008.

“The five-person panel of Supreme Court Justices, which included Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, Chima Centus Nweze, Amina Adamu Augie and Uwani Musa Abba Aji; unanimously agreed that the matter should be sent back to the Court of Appeal and assigned to a fresh panel of justices to re-hear the matter as the panel that heard the case was different from the panel that delivered the judgment.

“On the substantive matter of jurisdiction, the justices felt that since the appeal on technical ground was granted, there was no need to consider it.

“The justices, among other things state that “Under the doctrine of stare decisis, we are bound by these decisions [judicial precedents]. It follows therefore, that in the instant case, where His Lordship E. Ekanem, JCA, who did not participate in the hearing of the appeal, rendered a judgment thereon, the lower court, in so far as the panel that delivered the judgment was different from the panel that heard the appeal, was incompetent. The appeal is therefore allowed. The judgment delivered on 9/6/2014 is a nullity and must be and is hereby set aside. Appeal N. CA/A/256/09 shall be remitted to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, to he heard by a different panel of that court.

“I also agree that the resolution of issue 1 is conclusive of the appeal. There is no need to consider issue 2. The parties shall bear their respective costs in the appeal”.

“When the issue of jurisdiction now arose, the Federal High Court said it has jurisdiction; but the ASUSS lawyer said no and appealed against it. They went to Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal heard the matter and said the Federal High Court has jurisdiction. They still said no and went upstairs to the Supreme Court, where among other things they argued that one of the Justices of the Court of Appeal who signed the judgment didn’t hear the matter. The Supreme Court said yes, since a justice who didn’t hear the matter signed, it is erroneous and for that reason, we throw back this matter to the Court of Appeal for the President of the Court of Appeal to reassign the matter to another Panel of Justices to re-hear it. That is where we are.

Similarly, in the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in the Ibadan Judicial division holden at Ibadan before the Lordship Honourable Justice F.I.Kola-Olalere in 2017.

The presiding Judge said ” there is no endorsement or pleading before the Court to show that this body, the Secondary School Teachers in Osun State who have withdrawn their membership from the NUT is registered under any law particularly under the Trade Unions’ Act neither is there any averment in the statement of facts showing that its registration is being processed or to assist the Court in ascertaining the exact numbers or identities of these teachers in the body suing.

“Consequently, I find and hold that the claimants’ body, the Secondary School Teachers in Osun State who have withdrawn their membership from the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT is not know to law and so it has no locus standi to sue the defendants as it did in this case.

” In the circumstance, this Court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on this case and this suit is accordingly struck out”.

The Osun NUT in the statement pointed out that, “the founder of the union (Ransome Kuti) was from Secondary School teacher in 1931, the current Chairman in EDOLOOKOE, the Arewa and the Eastern Region of Nigeria Union of Teachers are all secondary school teachers while both the current National President, Treasurer and General-Secretary of the NUT are also from the Secondary School which shows that the NUT is the Union of both Primary and Secondary Schools Teachers in Nigeria”.

They therefore urged members of the union not to be misled by the wrong interpretation given to the verdict in some quarters. the statement concluded.