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Tag: Court Order

  • Strike: JOHESU confirms receiving Court Order

    The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) on Saturday confirmed receiving an Order of Interim Injunction from the National Industrial Court (NIC) compelling it to immediately resume duties.

    Addressing an emergency news conference on behalf of the national body of JOHESU in Abuja, Dr Godwin Okara, the Chairman, Assembly of Healthcare Professionals Association (AHPA), said the notice was served on the union at 5.39 p.m on Friday (May 25).
    Okara explained that the briefing was aimed at updating the media and the general public on the latest developments affecting the industrial action.
    “An Order of Interim Injunction compelling JOHESU to immediately resume duties was just served on JOHESU at 5.39 pm on Friday May 25.
    “We have the greatest respect and regard for the Judiciary of our country Nigeria.

    “It has always proved to be the bulwark of our democracy, the last hope of the common man and the flagship of the vanguard for law and order in human society,” he said.
    However, Okara noted that JOHESU had before the receipt of the NIC order filed Court Processes before the same court and the Court of Appeal on May 21, challenging the locus standi of the Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, an NGO, and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
    He described the suit as a calculated attempt by the Federal Ministry of Health and the NGO to demonise JOHESU through sustained misinformation and falsehood.

    Okara explained that JOHESU decided to seek legal redress when it noticed that there was an intention by the parties to tarnish the image of its members on the mass media when they have not received any court order.

    “JOHESU had before the receipt of this Court Order filed Court Processes in the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal on the 21st of May, 2018, challenging the locus standi of the NGO and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

    “The move is a follow up to the calculated attempt to demonise JOHESU through sustained misinformation and falsehood by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, an NGO, that is neither our employer nor a party to the agreement JOHESU signed with Government.
    “The NGO has constituted itself into a meddlesome interloper,” Okara said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NIC had on May 17 allegedly ordered striking members of JOHESU to suspend its on-going strike, and resume work across the nation within 24 hours.
    Justice Babatunde Adejumo, President of the NIC, gave the order after listening to the submissions of Mr Okere Nnamdi, in an ex-parte motion filed by the NGO, Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International.

    The NGO in the motion prayed the court to order the workers to restore normal healthcare services and go back to negotiation table.
    Okara also expressed concern over the persistent attempts by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to misinform the public through malicious fabrication of accusation and blatant lies that JOHESU members had locked up theatres, consulting rooms, laboratories and wards.
    “It beats imagination that NMA will go to any ridiculous length in giving bad names to a dog in order to hang it,’’ he said.
    He dismissed insinuations by the NMA that their members were intimidated by JOHESU officials and hospital authorities lack the power to keep the gates and doors of our health facilities open.

    According to him, JOHESU members have conducted themselves with the highest degree of restraint and discipline in the face of provocation and double-dealing by the Federal Ministry of Health and NMA.

    But the AHPA chairman commended the leadership of the Senate for their recent intervention aimed at ensuring full and amicable resolution of the crisis.
    Okara also appreciated all men and women of good conscience that have lend their voices of reason to JOHESU’s struggle for improved healthcare facilities in the country, justice, fairness and equity in the health sector.

    While sympatising with patients and their relatives over the pangs of the strike, he appealed to the general public to understand that the strike was in the best interest of improving the country’s health sector.

    Okara urged members of JOHESU to sustain the strike pending the outcome of national consultative meetings with states and zonal leaders of the union to review the latest situation and decide on the next line of action on May 27 and 28 in Abuja, respectively.
    The JOHESU official therefore urged the Federal Government to implement the agreement reached with the union on Sept. 30, 2017, to avoid further loss of lives.

  • Strike: We are ‘unmoved’ by court order directing resumption of work – JOHESU

    …wants Minister of Health, Labour sacked

    Sequel to the National Industrial Court judgement ordering the striking Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) to return to work within 24 hours, the union has dared the court order, insisting it is ‘unmoved.’

    Recall that Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the judgment on Thursday in Abuja.

    According to Daily Trust newspaper, the order followed an ex-parte motion filed by a non-governmental organisation challenging the industrial action by the health workers.

    The NGO, Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, in the motion, prayed the court to order the workers to resume work and go back to the negotiation table.

    The judge also ordered the ministers of Health, as well as Labour and Employment to immediately set up a committee to address issues raised by the parties.

    Responding to the development on Friday, an official of JOHESU said the union was yet to be served with the order.

    “There is no paper to that effect. It is only on the pages of newspaper and television that we saw it,” Olatunji Tajudeen, JOHESU Lagos State Council Chairman said. “There should be a notice properly served,” he added.

    The official however said the union was ‘unmoved’ by any judgment and that the strike will continue until the workers’ demands are met.

    He said the unions’ new demand is that both the ministers of health and labour be ‘removed’.

    Tajudeen described both officials as ‘biased’ in the ongoing negotiations between the union and government.

    JOHESU, an association of health workers except doctors, has been on strike for more than a month.

    The strike began on April 17 at federal hospitals across the country until a week ago when members of JOHESU in the employ of state and local governments joined in.

    Meanwhile, JOHESU has directed its members in Lagos, Yobe and Kano to return go work following efforts by the state governments to meet their local demands.

    On that, the Lagos union leader said, “Yes we have returned to work and opened up our emergency unit following efforts made by our state government to meet our local demands.

    “We only do skeletal and emergency response at the moment.”

     

  • EFCC bows to court order, apologises to Dasuki’s aide over demeaning press statement

    EFCC bows to court order, apologises to Dasuki’s aide over demeaning press statement

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday bowed to an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged falsehood and media trial engaged by the anti-graft agency against a military officer, Colonel Nicholas Ashinze.

    Ashinze was Military Assistant to former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

    Justice Kolawole had ordered the EFCC to apologize to Ashinze over a statement which “degraded” the officer as well as portrayed him as guilty in an alleged N36bn fraud.

    At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, EFCC begged the court and the defendant, Ashinze.

    EFCC claimed that “the error in figure was a mix-up in the body of the release as the headline reflected the correct information.

    “The reference to Ashinze as retired is regretted. We have since discovered that he is a serving Colonel in the Nigerian Army”.

    Counsel to Ashinze, Mr. Ernest Nwoye, had an hearing on March 21 protested the press statement issued by EFCC in which the defendant was reported to have been indicted by the court for diverting and misappropriating a whopping sum of N36billion.

    Apart from the alleged N36bn said to have been diverted and misappropriated, the EFCC statement also referred to serving Colonel Ashinze as a retired officer.

    The counsel who drew the attention of Justice Gabriel Kolawole to the offending EFCC press statement, tendered the statement and the newspaper publications at the court to establish bias and misrepresentation of the court proceeding of March 7, 2017 by the anti-graft agency.

    Nwoye told the Judge that Colonel Ashinze was never charged by EFCC for any offence on N36billion diversion and misappropriation and wondered where EFCC Media team, that was not present in the court, got its proceeding that the defendant had been indicted for the amount.

    The counsel urged the court to condemn Media Trial the defendant is being subjected to as such action if not checked, will lead to misrepresentation of facts by the general public.

    Nwoye also tendered newspaper publications that emanated from the EFCC press statement issued by Wilson Uwujaren, Head of Media and Publicity in the EFCC.

    Justice Kolawole who was taken aback by the EFCC’s press statement asked the EFCC counsel, Mr. Ofem Uket if he was aware of the press statement and if he ever issued any.

    The EFCC counsel denied ever granting press interview in respect of the trial but admitted receiving letter of complaint from Nwoye and that he consulted with EFCC and discovered that the Press Statement was actually released to the media.

    Uket, in his defence said that contrary to the charge of N3billion alleged transfer, evidence from witnesses have shown that about N5billion was involved.

    However, Justice Kolawole who was not impressed by the argument of the EFCC’s counsel told him that the proceeding would have to stop pending the time the EFCC would put its house in order by stopping to mislead the public on court proceedings.

    Justice Kolawole in a short ruling on the protest from Barrister Nwoye said that “It is unfair for EFCC as a complainant in this trial to resort to self-help by engaging the defendant in the media trial at the same time in the court trial.

    His words: “If you want to try the defendant in the media, you have to limit yourself to the media. You have to stop misleading the public in the fact of this trial.

    “Let me say it for the sake of emphasis that EFCC must stop the use of journalists to distort proceedings in my court. You cannot be engaging in two trial: one in the court and one in the media at the same time.

    “If you are not satisfied with my decision to stop this trial pending the time the EFCC retract this offending press statement of my court proceeding, then you can take your case to another court

    “This press statement by one Wilson Uwujaren who claimed to be from EFCC is scandalous and prejudice to fair trial of the defendant in this matter.

    “In order to prevent media and court trial at the same time with one misrepresenting the order, I have stopped this trial pending the time the EFCC retracts the offending press statement.

    “The trial of the defendant has nothing to do with N36billion diversion and misappropriation.

    “The retraction has to be done between now and April 13, 2017. And this EFCC witness is hereby ordered to step down from the witness box and come back on April 13, 2017

    “The court proper proceeding cannot materialise where records and facts of the case are being distorted by EFCC that is even the complainant in the matter.”