Posted by By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku and Abimbola Akoshile on
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, has been called upon to intervene in the case of the 49 lecturers of University of Ilorin, who were relieved of their duties for taking part in the 2001 nation-wide strike, with a view to ensuring that they were reinstated
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, has been called upon to intervene in the case of the 49 lecturers of University of Ilorin, who were relieved of their duties for taking part in the 2001 nation-wide strike, with a view to ensuring that they were reinstated
In a letter to the Justice Minister dated September 9, counsel to the affected lecturers, Mr. Femi Falana, said the Federal High Court Ilorin on July 26 delivered a judgment in a suit filed by the affected staff to challenge the legal validity of their purported removal from office, and ordered the authorities of the university to reinstate the plaintiffs to their posts as lecturers with all their rights, entitlements, other perquisites of their offices, as well as their salaries and allowances from February 2001, till the day the judgment was delivered.
According to him, as the university authorities were yet to comply with the order of the court, the solicitors to the university, without its consent, hurriedly appealed the judgment.
He said the presidency on August 9 summoned the school authorities to a meeting in Abuja, where they were giving certain instructions on the case.
Falana alleged that the intervention of the presidency in the matter prompted the university authorities to flagrantly refuse to comply with the order of the Federal High Court, and instead informed the affected staff that the Federal High Court has been instructed to grant a stay of execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal
He said since the court of law had ordered the reinstatement of the lecturers, it is subversive of the rule of law for the presidency to direct otherwise.
"In the circumstance, we are compelled to request you to impress it on Mr. President that his powers as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces are not interchangeable with his visitorial powers over the Federal Universities.
"Even in the heyday of military dictatorship in Nigeria, the court did not allow the military Head of State to interfere in the removal of university staff.
"In the light of the forgoing, you will agree with us that the President cannot prevent the Governing Council of University of Ilorin from reinstating the affected staff in line with the orders of the Federal High Court.
"Having led Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) until very recently to campaign against incessant executive lawlessness in the country, we have no doubt that you will use your good office to ensure that the affected staff are reinstated without any further delay," the letter read.
It would be recalled that 49 lecturers were sacked despite collective agreement between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on June 30, 2001, that no lecturer would be victimized for participating in the strike which lasted from January to June 2001.