The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has filed an appeal challenging the judgment of Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court (NIC) Abuja who ordered the lecturers to end their seven-month-old strike and return to the classrooms .

Counsel for ASUU, Mister Femi Falana, based their appeal on 14 grounds. The motion seeks two reliefs which are:

A) The leave to file the appeal in accordance with Article 243 of the Constitution which requires the party to apply for leave from the court to appeal against the judgment or verdict of the National Industrial Court (NIC).

B) Request for postponement of execution of the orders of the court, pending the hearing and decision of the appeal.

The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by Samuel Ameh, who is a research assistant in the office of Falana and Falana’s Chambers.

He stated on the note that he had the permission of ASUU to swear on oath. Ameh further said in the affidavit that he was informed that the said judgment affects the fundamental and other legal rights of ASUU and its members.

It was his further decision that the court below made the order without jurisdiction as the said reference was incompetent.

It was further demonstrated that ASUU has a very strong case and appeal which the court should decide one way or another. He therefore prayed the court to preserve the subject matter of the dispute so that the appeal does not become invalid.

14 GROUNDS OF APPEAL

That the learned trial judge – Judge Polycarp Hamman – erred in law and thereby caused a miscarriage of justice when he decided to hear and decide the respondents’ motion for an interlocutory order when he knew or should have knew that the substantive suit brought by the plaintiff was not initiated by a proper legal process.

That the court is obliged to resolve issues surrounding the competence and validity of an originating process before proceeding to grant legal aid in an application arising from it.

More to follow…