Nigerian University Lecturers, ASUU Set To Call Off Strike – Counsel, Falana

Once he gained access to the certified true copy of the court ruling from last Friday, Falana said he would advise his clients accordingly.

It is anticipated that the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) eight-month-old strike would be called off soon.

In an interview with Channels TV on Monday, renowned human rights attorney Femi Falana, SAN, verified this and said it was possible that the Nigerian government and the striking professors found a solution outside of court.

“The legal advice that I will give to my clients is confidential. But I can assure you that the strike will soon be called off,” Falana stated.

Falana said he would advise his clients accordingly once the certified true copy of the court order of last Friday had been made available to him.

“Advising clients to call off a strike is the most difficult aspect of my practice. On one occasion, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and I spent six hours persuading Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and other NLC (Nigeria Labour Congress) to call off a strike in compliance with a court order. Our advice to ASUU will be based on the court order and other relevant reports.

“I am reasonably confident that the consultations between the House and the Presidency will yield positive results in the interest of the striking lecturers and the students,” he added.

Recall that the three-man panel of appellate court headed by Justice Hamma Barka, on Friday ordered the striking lecturers to obey the ruling of the National Industrial Court and return to classroom effective from October 7.

The court however granted ASUU “Conditional leave to appeal the order of the Industrial Court,” but insisted that ASUU must obey the order of the NIC with immediate effect.

Reacting to the Appeal Court’s ruling, ASUU said that it would review the judgment before it will decide on the next line of action.

The ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, had said the union was yet to officially receive the Appeal Court ruling.

But he noted that when the union officially received the court order, it would go through the document with its lawyers and decide on what to do next.

He said, “We have not received the ruling, when we get it, we will review it with our lawyer and then we can take the next step.”