The National Industrial Court in Abuja has extended the tenure of the re-elected president of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Innocent Bola-Audu to June 15, 2029.
Justice Rakiya Haastrup gave the ruling on Wednesday and awarded N70 million in damages in his favour.
The court ordered the accountant-general of the federation to recognise Mr Bola-Audu as president and allow him to manage the association’s finances.
The case followed a dispute over his re-election at an emergency delegates conference held on August 10, 2024.
Bola-Audu and the union had sued Shehu Mohammed and Joshua Apebo, alongside the accountant-general of the federation and the attorney-general of the federation.
The court held that Mohammed and Apebo were aware of an earlier judgment that reinstated Bola-Audu but asked members to ignore it.
It said they failed to comply with the judgment and misled the accountant-general.
The court also ruled that Bola-Audu had the authority to convene the emergency meeting that led to his re-election.
It upheld the August 2024 election and declared a separate election conducted by Mohammed and Apebo invalid.
The judge said the time Bola-Audu spent in court seeking reinstatement should be added to his tenure, extending it from August 10, 2028, to June 15, 2029.
The court directed all parties not to interfere with his role as president.
It also ordered Mohammed and Apebo to pay N70 million in damages for actions that affected Bola-Audu.
The court noted that a trial court had dismissed earlier allegations against Innocent Bola-Audu.
In an earlier case, the court had reinstated him after his removal over allegations linked to a case handled by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
After the judgment, Bola-Audu said there was no winner or loser and asked all parties to work together in the interest of the union’s members.
