Lukman Olabiyi
Justice R. Gwandu of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Lagos has summoned six parties suspected of involvement in the disregard of a May 23 ex-parte order stopping last Thursday’s National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) Lagos Chapter election.
The judge ordered NAWOJ and NUJ officials, Ekene Adeola, the Registered Trustees of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ifeyinwa Omole, Ladi Bala, Mrs Abiola Beckley and Mrs Yemisi Adeniran to appear before the court on June 10, alongside their lawyers.
The judge warned that their failure to do so would put them in contempt. The order was the latest verdict in suit NICN/LA/248/2019 filed by the NAWOJ Lagos State chapter chairperson, Mrs Sekinah Lawal, seeking several reliefs.
Adeola, NUJ Registered Trustees, Omole, Bala, Beckley and Adeniran are joined as first to sixth defendants in the suit.
Adeola and Lawal were candidates in the chairperson category of the NAWOJ election fixed for last Thursday (May 23). But the court granted Lawal an interim injunction restraining the defendants from going on with the poll and adjourned till yesterday for accelerated hearing of the substantive suit.
The injunction restrained the respondents from recognising Adeola as chairperson candidate in the election. It also restrained the body responsible for the conduct of the election from going ahead with it.
However, the order did not seem to have any effect as Adeola, in unclear circumstances, purportedly emerged as the winner and was sworn in as chairperson.
At the commencement of proceedings yesterday, Lawal’s counsel, Mr Omotayo Olatunbosun, informed the court that persons engaged by the defendants prevented the court bailiff from effecting the order.
“Policemen prevented him from serving them (the defendants). They went ahead to hold the election. They used policemen and thugs to prevent service,” he said.
Shocked, the judge asked: “Hope you were not beaten?”
“No, but another person was beaten,” Olatunbosun replied
The judge then summoned the bailiff, Mr Olaomoju Ayo Moses, who corroborated what Olatunbosun told the judge.
He said: “On getting to the venue, LTV 8 at Agidingbi, Alausa, Ikeja, I met Mrs (Sekinah) Lawal who took me to the hall where the election was to hold for me to serve them.”