Two weeks ago, some individuals urged me to step back from defending the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG). Others resorted to insults when I highlighted that the Trade Union Act mandates employers to recognize all registered trade unions and uphold workers’ rights to organize. I chose to disregard these anti-democratic voices, seeing no value in engaging with their backers.
It is crucial to emphasize, without hesitation, that for over forty years, we have been actively involved in legal and political battles defending the fundamental rights of workers, students, educators, lawyers, and medical professionals to freely associate. Below is a summary of some of the key campaigns we have led:
THE ALLEGED BAN ON NANS
In 1984, the military regime under Muhammadu Buhari banned the then-thriving National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). We advised NANS leaders to disregard this ban, as it lacked legal foundation. Defiantly, the NANS President at the time, Comrade Lanre Arogundade, declared, “NANS will continue to function as it was not established by the Nigerian government.”
After NANS organized protests against the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1989, the Ibrahim Babangida military government allegedly sponsored cult groups to attack student union leaders across tertiary institutions. Radical student activists faced expulsion or suspension on baseless grounds. The late Comrade Alao Aka-Bashorun and Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN spearheaded legal challenges against these oppressive measures. Most cases were won in court, and with support from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), displaced student leaders were able to complete their education locally or abroad.
BANNING OF NMA AND NARD
In 1985, the Buhari military government proscribed the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) following strikes demanding better pay and improved hospital conditions. This crackdown exposed the regime’s hypocrisy, which had justified its coup by criticizing Nigerian hospitals as mere “consulting clinics.”
Dr. Emmanuel Akpabio and Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, then NMA President and First Vice-President, were detained without trial for six months under the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984. Our chambers challenged their detention in Lagos State High Court. Meanwhile, NARD leaders fled the country to avoid arrest.
CRIMINALIZING STRIKES
In October 1988, senior staff of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) staged a three-day strike protesting chronic underfunding, unsafe working conditions, and poor service delivery. Eleven workers were arrested and charged with economic sabotage before a military tribunal in Jos, Plateau State. Despite pleading not guilty, they were sentenced to life imprisonment, later commuted to ten years. Due to widespread local and international condemnation, General Ibrahim Babangida pardoned them before they completed their sentences, allowing them to regain freedom with dignity intact.
DISSOLUTION OF NLC LEADERSHIP
In 1988, ideological divisions fractured the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) ahead of its Triennial Conference in Benin, Edo State. The progressive faction won, while the Babangida-backed group was rejected by workers. In retaliation, the military deployed troops to seize the NLC Secretariat in Surulere, Lagos, and imposed a sole administrator. This takeover aimed to facilitate privatization, mass layoffs, and commercialization of social services under the IMF and World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Program.
Our chambers challenged the dissolution in Lagos High Court, but the case was dismissed due to the decree’s ouster of court jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the NLC mobilized Nigerians to resist this imperialist agenda. The proscription was lifted in December 1988 after the junta failed to control the NLC.
FORCED CARETAKER COMMITTEE FOR NBA
In 1993, the military regime seized control of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), transferring authority to the Body of Benchers through Decree No. 21 of 1993. The decree criminalized any actions taken under it, threatening one-year imprisonment or fines. The Ikeja branch of the NBA unanimously resolved to contest this decree, instructing our firm to represent them.
We filed suit in Lagos State High Court to defend lawyers’ right to freedom of association. The trial judge granted an interim injunction against the military government. The defendants appealed, questioning the court’s jurisdiction. A full Court of Appeal panel ultimately ruled the decree illegal and unconstitutional in the landmark case Williams v Akintunde (1995) 3 NWLR (Pt 381) 101.
Separately, the Civil Liberties Organisation petitioned the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which condemned the government’s interference in NBA affairs as violating Articles 6, 7, and 10 of the African Charter. The decree was annulled, and the Abacha regime withdrew from NBA management in 1994. This remains the only decree successfully challenged during military rule.
BANNING OF ASUU
In 1992, ASUU initiated a strike protesting inadequate funding of public universities. Instead of addressing the concerns, the military threatened to evict lecturers from campus housing. We secured a Lagos State High Court injunction preventing forced evictions without due process. The regime then enacted the Teaching E.T.C. (Essential Services) Decree No. 30 of 1993, criminalizing teacher strikes as treason. The court again restrained enforcement of this decree.
In 1994, the Abacha regime claimed to have banned ASUU. Acting on ASUU’s instructions, we challenged this in the Federal High Court, Enugu, which ruled that the decree only limited ASUU’s activities to individual campuses, not banning the union outright.
DISSOLUTION OF NLC AND BANNING OF NUPENG AND PENGASSAN
In 1994, the Abacha military government proscribed NUPENG and PENGASSAN for backing the campaign to reinstate the annulled June 12, 1993 election and restore democracy. Union leaders were detained without trial for four years. The General Secretary of NUPENG, Comrade Frank Kokori, suffered lasting harm from prison abuses until his death two years ago.
The Gani Fawehinmi Chambers challenged the proscription at the Federal High Court, but the case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Despite this, sustained political resistance and solidarity from progressive groups persisted. The junta also dissolved the NLC for supporting democracy. In 1998, the succeeding Abdulsalami Abubakar regime lifted the NLC dissolution and repealed bans on NMA, NARD, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN.
EXPANSION OF TRADE UNIONS
After the NLC protested fuel price hikes, the Obasanjo administration sought to ban the central labour organization. Constrained by Section 40 of the Constitution protecting freedom of association, the government instead enacted the Trade Union (Amendment) Act 2005 to weaken unions by allowing multiple federations besides the NLC.
This amendment permits trade unions to register and affiliate with federations other than the NLC, aiming to fragment labour unity. It also makes union membership voluntary and imposes strict conditions before strikes can be called. Following this, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) registered as an alternative central labour body. Yet, the NLC and TUC have often united to oppose exploitation by the state and foreign interests.
JUDICIAL INQUIRY INTO KADUNA STRIKE
In May 2021, Kaduna State workers struck for better conditions. Former NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba was declared wanted by Governor Nasiru El-Rufai for supporting the strike. The governor then established a judicial panel with broad powers to investigate the strike.
We challenged this in the National Industrial Court, which ruled that the governor lacked authority to set up such a commission on labour disputes. The court declared the panel unconstitutional and void. The Kaduna State Government later abandoned its appeal.
DIVISION OF ASUU
During ASUU’s 2022 strike, the Buhari administration considered banning the union but abandoned the plan due to its illegality. Instead, it recognized two new unions-the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA)-to divide ASUU’s influence.
Despite this, NAMDA and CONUA failed to end the strike. ASUU challenged their registration in the National Industrial Court, but the court upheld the registrations, citing ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
SUSPENSION OF NURTW
On May 31, 2019, Governor Seyi Makinde banned the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, alleging public disorder and taking control of motor parks. The union sought redress at the National Industrial Court, which dismissed the case in 2022.
However, the Court of Appeal recently overturned the suspension, ruling Governor Makinde’s action unlawful due to lack of evidence of disorder. Justice Biobele Georgewill emphasized that while the government can maintain order, it must act within legal boundaries and cannot arbitrarily suspend union activities.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In summary, NUPENG and PENGASSAN deserve praise for securing union rights for both junior and senior staff at the Dangote Refinery. Had they failed, other employers might have been emboldened to deny workers their constitutional and legal rights to unionize, as protected by the Nigerian Constitution, Trade Union Act, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and ILO Conventions 78 and 98 ratified by Nigeria.
While the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress are the registered central labour bodies, the National Employers Consultative Association (NECA) represents employers in the organized private sector, advocating on socio-economic and labour policies since 1957. Notably, those calling for the abolition of trade unions have never demanded NECA’s proscription.
We stand united with democratic forces to resist attempts by reactionary elements to dismantle NUPENG and PENGASSAN. No amount of baseless accusations will deter us from defending Nigerian workers’ rights guaranteed by law and international conventions. Those urging President Bola Tinubu to suspend the Constitution and impose Martial Law to ban these unions remain trapped in the dark era of military dictatorship, a chapter Nigeria has decisively closed.