National Industrial Court Refutes The Speculation That Judges Died Because Of Delay In Salary Payment

President of the National Industrial Court Honourable Justice Babatunde Adejumo OFR has dismissed speculations that the death of two judges of the NIC over the past two weeks may have been caused by delayed payment of salaries and deplorable working environment. Justice Adejumo argued that the deaths were coincidental, natural and not triggered by either load of work, poor salary earnings or delayed salary payments. According to him, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, is one of the superior courts of record, and judicial officers in this court earn their salaries through National Judicial Council (NJC) that collects such funds on first line charge. He said, “We are not owing our judicial officers, and indeed our workers, any salaries, just as no judicial officer is suffering from any work over-loads.” “Those deaths are natural just as the sequence or frequency you talked about are coincidental. There is nothing untoward about any death. Once it is time there is little or nothing anyone can do about it’’. Those who spoke to Leadership Newspaper said the development could be as a result of either delayed payment or poor salaries and wages earned by the judges. Justice Adejumo described the purported claims “In all its totality, as False. His Lordship, Hon. Justice B. A. Adejumo maintains that National Industrial Court of Nigeria, as usual will continue to put in top priority the welfare of all Judges and staff. The court will continue to deploy the technique of Information Technology to ease judicial processes for better and optimal performance in furtherance to the accolades received as best digitalized court in Africa. Before the assumption of office by his lordship, Hon. Justice B.A Adejumo OFR as the president of the court, the court which started in 1976, only has it presence mainly in a dilapidated building in Lagos, and was subsequently extend to Abuja in 1990s. The Nigerian Industrial Court (NIC) was established in 1976 to take care of trade disputes between employers and employees, workers and workers, trade unions and workers and trade unions and trade unions. For 25 years, the National Industrial Court (NIC), remained practically moribund. The court sat only in Lagos for those years. It was clearly unknown and its decisions and pronouncements hardly respected. Justice Babatunde Adejumo testified: “On my assumption of office, I realized that there was nothing on record to show how superior the court is. Nothing to even make it the court that can meet the yearnings and aspirations of the founding fathers. As a result of further contentions on the status of the Court as a superior court of record, the National Assembly vide the Third Alteration Act, 2011,amended the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to established the Court as a superior court of record specifically and expressly under the Constitution. The Court has and exercises exclusive jurisdiction in civil causes and matters relating to labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations, and matters arising from workplace, the conditions of service, including health, safety, welfare of labour, employee, worker and matters incidental thereto and connected therewith. By virtue of Section 254C (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended by the Third Alteration Act, 2011) the National Industrial Court of Nigeria has jurisdiction and powers in criminal causes and matters arising from any cause or matter on which jurisdiction has been conferred on it. “Then, whenever it rained court would not be able to sit because the place was always water-logged.” That was in 2003. All have changed now. Today, under the leadership of His Lordship, Justice B. A. Adejumo, has established court in 24 divisions and registries with full state of arts architecture. NICN Headquarters building situated in Abuja is to be completed soon.]]>