Appeal Court Orders ASUU To Resume Work Immediately

A Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has on Friday, October 7, 2022, ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off the strike immediately.

According to the court, the only condition for the union’s request to appeal the ruling of the National Industrial Court is to can be effected is to call off the strike.

The National Industrial Court had in September granted an interlocutory order in favour of the federal government, ordering the striking lecturers to return to classrooms.

In a judgement on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Justice Polycarp Hamman held that the strike was a breach of Section 18(1)(2) of the Trade Disputes Act, which prohibits their action.

Dissatisfied by the judgement, ASUU filed an application at the Court of Appeal (Abuja Division), seeking the leave of court to file an appeal against the industrial court order.

However, on Friday, the Appeal Court granted the application on the condition that the union obeys the ruling of the lower court and call off the strike immediately pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The court, therefore, gave ASUU seven days within which to file the appeal following its compliance with the ruling of the lower court.