The National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja has reaffirmed Comrade Innocent Bola-Audu as the duly elected President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), bringing to a close a protracted leadership dispute that has lasted over four years.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Rakiya Bosede Haastrup ordered that Bola-Audu be allowed to assume leadership of the union, including access to its National Secretariat, without any form of obstruction, harassment, or interference from the defendants.
The ruling, which marks the second phase of the legal contest, declared that Sheu Mohammed and Apebo Joshua, who had presented themselves as National President and Secretary General respectively, lacked any legal authority to occupy those positions.
Justice Haastrup upheld the ASCSN election held on August 10, 2024, which returned Bola-Audu for a second four-year term, noting that the process complied fully with the union’s constitution. Conversely, the court nullified a parallel election conducted in Lagos that produced Mohammed and Joshua as factional leaders, describing it as unconstitutional and illegitimate.
The court also directed the Accountant General of the Federation, a defendant in the suit, to release all check-off dues of ASCSN members to the Bola-Audu-led executive.
In her judgment, Justice Haastrup referenced an earlier ruling delivered on July 9, 2024, by Justice Oyewumi Oyebiola, which had similarly upheld Bola-Audu’s leadership. She noted that the decision remains valid and binding, as it was not appealed by the opposing faction.
The court further held that Bola-Audu’s prior suspension and expulsion by the union’s Central Working Committee and National Working Committee had already been declared unlawful, null, and void in earlier proceedings. It added that the disciplinary actions were based on allegations previously dismissed by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Bola-Audu had been arrested in February 2021 by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) over alleged human trafficking but was subsequently discharged and acquitted by an Abuja High Court.
Justice Haastrup criticized the conduct of Mohammed and Joshua, stating that court orders must be obeyed and not disregarded. She imposed a fine of N10 million each on the two defendants for contemptuous and vindictive actions, as well as an additional N50 million jointly as exemplary and aggravated damages.
The court found that the defendants acted with malice by issuing what it described as frivolous correspondences to government officials and others, despite existing court rulings affirming the claimant’s leadership. All such communications were consequently voided.
A restraining order was also issued, barring the defendants and their agents from further interference with the activities of the recognized leadership or access to union properties.
In addition, the court extended the tenure of the current leadership by six months to compensate for the period during which they were denied access to the union’s secretariat.
Reacting to the judgment, Bola-Audu expressed appreciation to the judiciary for upholding justice in the matter. He called for unity within the union, stating that there was “no victor and no vanquished,” and urged all parties to work together in the interest of the association’s more than 600,000 members.
