The Federal Government has decided to retract the contempt of court proceedings that were initiated against the NLC, TUC, and other associated unions due to their participation in a nationwide protest.
This decision is outlined in a letter directed to the NLC’s lead counsel, Falana, and Falana’s Chambers. The letter, dated August 7, was signed by the Solicitor General of the Federation, B.E. Jeddy-Agba.
The Nigerian Ministry of Justice had issued a summons on contempt of court to the labor leadership via the National Industrial Court, in response to their involvement in the protest. In reaction, the NLC had issued a threat of embarking on another nationwide strike, commencing on August 14, unless the federal government retracted the contempt of court charges.
The protests organized by NLC, TUC, and their affiliated groups were directed against President Bola Tinubu’s policies that were perceived as detrimental to the interests of the less privileged, particularly the removal of petrol subsidies which had resulted in significant hardship for Nigerians.
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“Kindly recall the exchange of correspondence between the ministry and your office on the need for compliance with the extant court orders, restraining industrial action of any kind on the part of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress,” stated the government.
“The position of the ministry was informed by the need to safeguard the integrity of the court and prevent avoidable service disruption or damage to public facilities.”
It added that despite “these exchanges/interventions, the labour unions, on August 2, proceeded with the industrial action through public protests.”
The letter also mentioned that the protest led to disruption of work and the eventual pulling down of the gate of the National Assembly complex.
“The foregoing, it said, prompted the ministry to initiate contempt proceedings by filing Form 48 on the same 2nd August 2023 in accordance with Section 72 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and Order 9 Rule 13 of the Judgment (Enforcement) Rules,” said the justice ministry.
It stressed that it “is trite that issuance of Form 48 is just the starting point in contempt proceedings which will only crystalise upon the issuance of Form 49 and the consequential committal order.”