UPDATE BREAKING NEWS: NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT PORT HARCOURT JUDICIAL DIVISION LOSES HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE AUWAL IBRAHIM -HIS LAST STATEMENTS AT FIRST SITTING OF RIVERS CORRESPONDENTS’ JOURNALISTS CASE.
Shock and disbelief took over the Port Harcourt Judicial Division of National Industrial Court of Nigeria –NICN on Monday 26th of February, 2018 as the death of his Lordship Justice Auwal Ibrahim filtered into Rivers state. In obedience to Islamic rites late Justice Auwal Ibrahim was laid to rest at Azare his home town in Bauchi on Tuesday 27th, 2018. Thursday 1st, March, 2018 has been a date many Correspondents journalists in Rivers state had been waiting for as the late erudite Justice Auwal Ibrahim had asked the counsels to exchange various Motions related with the case and return to the national industrial Court of Nigeria-NICN Port Harcourt Judicial Division on 1st of March, 2018 for subsequent adoption and hearing. Before the case was adjoined the late Justice Ibrahim admonished the parties involved in the matter that he had handled such a matter at Enugu Judicial Division where Members of Enugu Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists-NUJ where there were two factions over Union bus and that he made sure the rightful members of the Association had it. And that in such matters Government set up National Industrial Court of Nigeria to handle arbitration issues and Labour and union matters.
He said that it is only little misunderstanding that brings parties to court. And that at no time should the court allow few officials to use the money contributed by the majority which should yield interest to be used to pay themselves salaries should the Union go on Industrial Strike that this is the right of Unions to go to industrial strike. If the court finds out that one of the parties used illegal means to put themselves in office that the Court will remove such officials and set up Administrators and that any money used by the illegitimate officials shall be recovered. He then gave example of 6-Lawmakers who got themselves into the National assembly and federal Governments Laws has made it that if you got yourself into illegally that you will refund any Salary earned from day one to the day you are removed from office.
He said one out of the 6-Lawmakers has been made to return his earnings while two judges who were investigated for wrong doing that Federal Government had dismissed them. This was the erudite Judge His Lordship Late Justice Auwal Ibrahim admonishing members of the Correspondents’ Chapel Nigeria union of Journalists Rivers State Council who’s purported Friday, January 26th 2018 Election is being challenged at National Industrial Court of Nigeria-NICN Port Harcourt Judicial Division of which he opened up on the direction of justice when the case first came up for mention on February 12th,2018. And at the adjoined date of Thursday, 1st, March, 2018 all the parties were present but the death of Justice Auwal Ibrahim stalled the sitting as the Court room was under lock and key until the appointment of another Judge to take over all the cases late Justice A. Ibrahim was handling before his demise on late Sunday night of February 25th, 2018 as his death is suspected to have been stress induced.