The end of the leadership tussle in the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, appears not to be in sight as a faction led by one Tommy Okon on Wednesday barred the court-reinstated president of the body, Innocent Bola-Audu, from accessing the National Secretariat in Abuja.
Bola-Audu, with his supporters, stormed the ASCSN office to resume duty as the National President following his recent reinstatement by an order of court but the move was resisted by the Okon group.
The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja on July 9, 2024, voided the purported suspension of Bola-Audu and subsequently ordered his reinstatement as the authentic President of ASCSN until his tenure is completed.
In the judgement delivered virtually, Justice Oyewumi Oyebiola held that the suspension of Bola-Audu by the Central Working Committee of the ASCSN and his subsequent expulsion by the National Working Committee was “unlawful, illegal, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
The court reasoned that Bola-Audu ought to have been reinstated as the President of ASCSN after a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, had dismissed all criminal charges filed against him by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP.
“The 3rd defendant (Tommy Okon) cannot continue to act as the acting president but can return to his position as Vice President if the union wishes,” the court stated.
In the bid to enforce the court order, the reinstated president got to the gate of the office complex but met it under lock and key with armed policemen and some members said to be loyal to Tommy Okon inside.
All efforts to prevail on the opposing group to respect the court judgement were rebuffed as a large crowd of ASCSN members loyal to Bola-Audu were turned back despite the presence of armed policemen and newsmen.
Reacting to the situation, Babatunde Adewusi, a lawyer for Bola-Audu, expressed dismay at the way the police handled the chaos.
“The President of ASCSN, Innocent Bola-Audu, is here to occupy his office following his reinstatement by the National Industrial Court on July 9, 2024.
“But in total disregard and disobedience to the court order and rule of law, some persons have decided to take laws into their hands by refusing the President access to his office.
“The people in question are not in doubt aware of the court judgement. The ambit of that judgement says he is now the President of the Association. It is a declaratory judgement.
“To begin to stay enforcement is to try and create another situation out of it. This is where the police should look at, and not at enforcement. Nobody is talking about enforcement here, let us not get it twisted,” he said.
Bola-Audu did not hide his feelings about the way the police approached the issue.
“These people escorted me to the office but we were denied access, and there was nothing the police could do about it.
“The DSP, the ACP, and all their senior officers came; they did not even border to respect anybody.
“Honestly, if the police had done the right thing, we would not be here. The police refused to invite them out and they locked me outside,” Bola-Audu said.
All efforts by newsmen to speak with Tommy Okon were bluntly refused, insisting he would not entertain any questions from the media over the matter.
ASCSN crisis: Opposing group bars court-reinstated president from accessing office