The National Industrial Court (NIC) Abuja has been asked to compel the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to pay retirement benefits of a former presidential award winner, Yushau Shuaib.
The initial order of the NIC was delivered November 22, 2017.
The court was prayed to hold that refusal of the Ministry to pay the benefits since 2017 constituted contempt of the court punishable with imprisonment.
In a motion on notice filed through his counsel, James Abah, Shuaib applied for an order for the enforcement of the judgment delivered against the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture (FMIC).
Shuaib, publisher of PRNigeria, prayed the court to order the two respondents to immediately compute salaries, allowances and other emoluments due to him from July 2013 when he was sacked as the Chief Information Officer in the Ministry.
The motion brought pursuant to Sections 254 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution as well as Section 10 of the NIC Act, 2006, was predicated on eight grounds among which was that the court has power to enforce its own judgment and commit to prison any person whose action constitutes contempt.
In a 19-paragraph affidavit, Shuaib recalled that the NIC voided his purported sack because it violated labour laws, having not followed due process of law.
The applicant averred that Justice David Isele ordered his reinstatement and payment of his salaries and entitlements within one month of the court verdict.
Shuaib said the FCSC, the first respondents in the court action, complied with the order by reinstating him to his duty post on September 3, 2018.
The applicant explained that after his brief resumption of work, he voluntarily retired from service on July 1, 2019 and notified appropriate authorities as required by law.
Since retirement, Shuaib added, different letters through his counsel dated December 4, 2017; December 14, 2017; January 9, 2018; December 19, 2019 and June 16, 2020, requesting the respondents to pay his salaries and entitlements were not honoured.
Shuaib averred that the FMIC on November 25, 2019 approved his voluntary retirement, adding that there was no basis for refusal to obey the NIC order since there is no stay of execution of the judgment.
No date has yet been fixed for hearing of the motion.
