The National Industrial Court in Abuja, has ordered the federal government and the registrar of trade unions to register the National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities (NANTS) as a trade union.
Key Highlights:
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae delivered the judgment in a suit filed by university workers seeking official recognition for the newly formed union.
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/345/2023, was instituted by Niyi Akinnibi on behalf of the association against the registrar of trade unions, the Mmnister of labour and employment, and the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice.
In the judgment, the court held that the refusal of the relevant authorities to register NANTS under the Trade Unions Act, was wrongful and contrary to the law.
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Justice Obaseki-Osaghae consequently directed the registrar of trade unions and the labour and employment mnister to immediately register the association and issue it a certificate of registration.
“A declaration is hereby made that the defendants are bound to register the claimant’s National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities as a trade union under the Trade Union Act,” the court ruled.
The court further declared that the refusal of the first and second defendants to register the association was unlawful.
“A mandatory order is hereby made directing the first and second defendants to register forthwith and/or to issue the claimant forthwith with the certificate of registration of the National Association of Non-Teaching Staff of Nigerian Universities as a trade union under the Trade Unions Act,” the judgment stated.
The court also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, or any authority acting on their behalf from denying the association registration as a trade union.
The ruling is expected to pave the way for the formal recognition of NANTS, whose members reportedly broke away from the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU).
Sources familiar with the development said the new union has established branches in federal and state universities across Nigeria and had been seeking official registration to operate as an independent trade union.
The judgment represents a significant legal victory for the association and could reshape the representation of non-teaching workers within the country’s university system.
