Court dismisses ASUU’s lawsuit, validates registration of CONUA and NAMDA as trade unions

A lawsuit filed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), challenging the registration of the Congress Of University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) as trade unions by the Federal Government, has been struck out by President of the National Industrial Court, Abuja, Justice Benedict Kanyip. 

Justice Kanyip who delivered judgment on the case on Tuesday, July 25, held that Section 27 of the Trade Union Act allows for more than one trade union in employment. He held that the section does not depict trade monopoly.

The judge noted that ASUU’s claim of former Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and the registrar of Trade Union not having the right to register NAMDA and CONUA is baseless.

Kanyip also said that ASUU presented hearsay evidence which did not show the complete registration of CONUA and NAMDA when it filed the suit. He stated that the suit was filed on October 26, 2022, when CONUA and NAMDA registration had not yet been gazetted in line with Section 523 of the Trade Union Act.

Before dismissing the reliefs sought by ASUU, Justice Kanyip also said that ASUU committed an error by filing against NAMDA as the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics instead of the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics, a mere mis-normal to a description in a suit that appears only when a person has a Jurisdictional name or is in existence.