Posted by By Demola Akinyemi on
FOUR years after, reprieve came late Tuesday afternoon for the sacked 44 lectures of the University of Ilorin as a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin ordered their reinstatement
ILORIN - FOUR years after, reprieve came late Tuesday afternoon for the sacked 44 lectures of the University of Ilorin as a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin ordered their reinstatement
Aside from the reinstatement of the dons, Justice P.F. Olayiwola in the ruling also ordered the payment of the salaries and allowances of the lecturers since February 2001 to date while those who have passed on among them should also be paid up to the time of their death.
It would be recalled that the dons had in 2001 joined their colleagues on a nation wide strike action called by the then national leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities {ASUU}over the poor funding of education sector and to press home the payment of their outstanding arrears then. The development then led to the polarization of ASUU local chapter and its inefficiency till date. This eventually culminated into the ostrazisation of the branch by the national body.
But the leadership of the university in its desperate bid to give an indication that dons of the varsity were not part of the strike regime had introduced an attendance register aimed at forcing the dons back to work.
The dons ignored the attendance register and sustained the strike action, only for the Vice Chancellor of the varsity at the time, Prof. Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem to direct the termination of the appointments of the lecturers for refusing to sign the register.
The dons ,convinced that the action of the university authorities was wrong, headed for the federal high to seek for an order setting aside their sack and praying the court to reinstate them.
ASUU had requested the court to compel the institution's authority to comply with the order of the federal government on the need to reinstate the sacked members and pay them their arrears of their salaries and allowances.
The university had challenged the suit of the dons insisting that its action to terminate the lecturers was in order and appropriate.
Three of the sacked dons had died in the course of waiting for judgement for lack of medical care while about 25 of them were ejected from the residential quarters for their inability to pay house rents with majority of their children dropping out of school as their parents could not afford their fees.
In the judgement, Justice Olayiwola upheld that he was not swayed by the arguments of the university authorities, as he maintained that the action was illegal.
The judge had relied on the letter of appointment, memorandum of terms of appointment and the University of Ilorin Act, Cap 455 law of the Federation 1990 to knock off the prayers of the university authorities.
The court held that the University of Ilorin authority violated section 15 {1} chapter 8 of the institution's staff regulations by denying the plaintiffs the opportunity to clear their names or defend themselves before a disciplinary committee since they were sacked based on alleged misconduct.
Olayiwola stated that the court considered the totality of the evidence adduced before it and weighed it against the relevant laws before it arrived at the decision on the prayers of the plaintiff.
The judge declared null and void the termination of the 44 lecturers of the institution and ordered their immediate reinstatement to their status with all their rights.