The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Lagos has dismissed applications filed by five judgment debtors seeking to suspend the enforcement of its judgment recognising the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria as an independent trade union entitled to operate freely in Lagos State.
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Justice Isaac Essien held that the first, second, third, fifth and seventh judgment debtors failed to comply with the mandatory requirements for obtaining a stay of execution pending appeal under Order 64 Rule 13 of the National Industrial Court Rules, 2017.
The court consequently ordered each of the five applicants to pay ₦1 million in costs to the judgment creditors, bringing the costs awarded against them in the stay proceedings to ₦5 million.
Justice Essien found that the first, second and third judgment debtors merely filed an application seeking leave to appeal, accompanied by proposed grounds of appeal, without establishing that a competent appeal was pending before the Court of Appeal.
The judge also held that the fifth and seventh judgment debtors filed notices of appeal without first obtaining the leave of the Court of Appeal, as required by law.
According to the court, the notices filed without leave were premature, incompetent and incapable of supporting the applications for a stay of execution.
Justice Essien ruled that the existence of a valid appeal was fundamental to an application seeking to suspend the enforcement of a judgment, adding that the court could not exercise its discretion in favour of the applicants where no competent appeal was pending.
The court accordingly dismissed both applications for failing to satisfy the conditions prescribed by the NICN Rules.
The judgment debtors had sought to halt the enforcement of the court’s December 11, 2025 judgment directing the Lagos State Government and other parties to recognise TOAN as an independent trade union under the Trade Unions Act.
In the substantive judgment, Justice Essien held that the Lagos State Government had no legal authority to compel TOAN to merge with, operate under or be incorporated into the National Union of Road Transport Workers or the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria.
The court described the state government’s interference with TOAN’s operations as discriminatory, unconstitutional, unlawful, oppressive, ultra vires and an unfair labour practice.
It ordered the Lagos State Government, the Commissioner for Transportation, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and other affected parties to recognise TOAN and permit it to operate without interference for as long as its trade union registration remained valid.
The court also restrained the Incorporated Trustees of the Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria and the Registered Trustees of the Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association of Lagos State from unlawfully competing with TOAN in organising commercial tricycle operators.
Justice Essien further restrained the Lagos State Government from interfering with TOAN’s lawful activities and awarded ₦5 million in damages against the state government and its Attorney-General, jointly and severally, for disrupting the association’s operations.
In a related ruling, the court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by officials of the sixth judgment debtor, the NURTW, challenging contempt proceedings brought against them.
The officials had argued that the proceedings were defective because Forms 86 and 87 were not personally served on them.
Justice Essien rejected the objection, holding that the court had previously granted permission for substituted service and that the affected officials were aware of the proceedings, having responded through their lawyers.
The judge ruled that the Chairman and Secretary of the NURTW could not deny knowledge or service of the contempt processes after participating in the proceedings through counsel.
The court awarded another ₦2 million in costs against the applicants in favour of the judgment creditors.
In the substantive committal proceedings, Justice Essien awarded a further ₦3 million in costs and directed the NURTW Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Adekunle, and the union’s Secretary, Usman Teslim, to appear before the court on October 15, 2026.
The two officials are expected to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying the judgment delivered on December 11, 2025.
The contempt proceedings arose from allegations that NURTW officials continued to issue tickets and exercise control over commercial tricycle operations in Lagos despite the court’s judgment recognising TOAN’s independent status.
The court has not yet determined that the two officials are guilty of contempt. Their scheduled appearance is to afford them an opportunity to respond to the allegations and explain why committal orders should not be made against them.
Across the stay applications, preliminary objection and committal proceedings, the court awarded a total of ₦10 million in costs in favour of the judgment creditors.
Before concluding the proceedings, Justice Essien criticised lawyers who filed additional court processes after the matters had already been reserved for ruling.
The judge described the practice as unprofessional and inconsistent with proper court procedure, stressing that judicial decisions must be based on the law, evidence and processes properly placed before the court before proceedings close.
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