The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned a suit against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
Naija News reports that the Federal government on Friday, dragged the university lecturers to the Industrial Court over the lingering strike by their union which has kept students at home for nearly seven months.
According to the source, “The federal government has filed a case at the Industrial Court challenging the continued strike by the university teachers. This conforms with Section 17 of the Trade Dispute Act.”
The Federal Government in its suit, asked the court to order ASUU to call off its seven months strike. 
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu was joined as a claimant in the matter with the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, as sole defendant.
Human rights activist, Ebunolu Adegoruwa, SAN, informed the court when the matter slated for mention came up that he was representing the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and that he had filed a suit on the same subject matter before the same court.
He also stated that in the suit NICN/ABJ/269/2022, SERAP was the claimant with the Federal Government as the defendant.
However, Counsel to FG, Mr T.A Gazali, SAN, in response, said the application was premature and added that there was no need for SERAP to pray, to be joined in a suit, orally, in a matter that did not have its name on the cause list.
Mr Femi Falana, SAN, counsel to ASUU, in his response, informed the court that both counsels had informed him that they were filing papers on Monday.
Falana prayed the court to step down the matter to enable both counsels to file their papers and then return at a later date, so as to respond to the claimant’s process.
Eventually, the judge ruled that SERAP’s suit is not ripe for consolidation, he ordered both parties to file and exchange court documents before adjourning the matter till Friday, 16th September 2022.
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