According to the Federal Government, organized labor was the target of contempt of court proceedings because it launched a national demonstration.
This is stated in a letter that was acquired on Tuesday by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and issued to Falana and Falana’s Chambers, the principal lawyer for the NLC.
The Solicitor General of the Federation, Mrs. B.E. Jeddy-Agba, signed the letter dated August 7 and sent to Falana’s Chambers.
The leadership of organized labor had received a summons for contempt of court from the Federal Ministry of Justice via the National Industrial Court (NICN) for starting the demonstration.
Remember that if the Federal Government would not drop the contempt charges by August 14, organized labor had threatened to go on a national strike.
Organized Labor has started a massive protest against the government’s anti-poor policies, particularly the elimination of the subsidy that had caused immeasurable misery for Nigerians.
The letter reads: “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.
“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.
“In spite of these exchanges/interventions, the labour unions on Aug. 2, proceeded with the industrial action through public protests”.
Additionally, it claimed that the demonstration caused work to be disrupted and that the National Assembly’s gate was ultimately pulled down.
“The foregoing 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 Judgement (Enforcement) Rules.
“It is trite that issuance of Form 48 is just the starting point in contempt proceedings which will only crystalize upon the issuance of Form 49 and the consequential committal order,” it added.
It noted that upon the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the decision of the labour unions to call-off their industrial action, “The ministry did not proceed further with the contempt proceedings, which would have required the issuance of Form 49 within two days of the issuance of Form 48.
“It is self-evident that the non-issuance of Form 49 as at Aug. 4, renders the contempt proceedings inchoate.
“You may therefore wish to advise or guide the labour unions on the practice and procedure of contempt proceedings.
“Also, the issues or concerns raised by NLC in its communique on the proceedings have been overtaken by events,” it said.