The Supreme Court, on Friday, reinstated the remaining 44 of the 47 lecturers sacked about 10 years ago by the University of Ilorin under the administration of Professor Oba Abdulraheem.

Professor Abdulraheem now heads the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

Three of the 47 lecturers had been reinstated by the apex court a few months ago.

Only 41 of the reinstated lecturers will be resuming duties, with the death of three in the course of pursuing justice over their dismissal from service for their participation in a strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The deceased, however, got justice as the five-man panel of justices ordered the payment of their salaries and allowances from the day they were purportedly dismissed from service to the dates of their death, with the law deeming that they died in active service.

The court rejected the argument of the institution to dismiss the appeal due to the death of three of the appellants.

It held that “The suit survived and was righty continued at the instance of the living plaintiffs. The death of two (now three) plaintiffs did not invalidate the case of the plaintiffs.”

Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi, in his lead judgment, upturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, which upheld the lecturers’ dismissal and restored the judgment of the trial court which quashed their sack.

Justices Dahiru Musdapher, Mariam Mukhtar, Francis Ogbuagu and Olufunlola Adekeye also agreed with the lead judgment in their concurrent judgment.

In the lead judgment, Justice Fabiyi said, “In conclusion, I find this appeal is, no doubt, meritorious. It is hereby allowed. The decision of the majority of justices of the court below is hereby set aside.

“In its place, the judgment of the trial Judge is restored to the effect that the living 41 appellants are hereby reinstated and should be paid their salaries and allowances from February 2001.

“For the three plaintiffs who died during the protracted litigation, may their souls rest in peace. As it has been written of old that, ‘it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.’ In their graves, they must be crying for justice. An incidental order is clearly warranted. They are deemed to have passed on while in service. Their salaries and allowances shall cease on their respective dates of death.”

The apex court held that the authorities in University of Ilorin deliberately chose to punish the lecturers because the crisis ought to have ended on June 29, 2001 when the National Universities Commission (NUC) ordered the university to recall the dismissed lecturers.

The then Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Munzali Jibril, had sent a directive to University of Ilorin and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The directive, which was quoted by the justice, read, “I am directed to draw the attention of your council to the cases of academic staff whose rights of continuous employment have been wrongly and prejudicially affected as a direct consequence of the national strike of ASUU and to request you to kindly reverse such action taken by your Council/Administration in order to ensure peace and harmony in the campuses in the country and in the spirit of negotiations.”

Justice Fabiyi noted that while University of Nigeria, Nsukka, complied with the directive, University of Ilorin chose not to, which led to the decade-long crisis.

In restating the lecturers, the Supreme Court held that after accusing the lecturers of not discharging their academic responsibilities, the university refused to give them fair hearing.

“There is no evidence on record that I can see wherein the appellants were offered opportunity for fair hearing,“ Justice Fabiyi held, while faulting the court of appeal for holding that the lecturers were given fair hearing.

“The court of appeal went out of its way to set up a case for the respondents. It must be stated in clear terms that it is not the responsibility of a court to set up for parties, a case different from the one set up by the parties themselves in the pleadings and evidence,” Justice Fabiyi said.

In awarding N2.8 million damages against the university, the apex court held that Section 15 (3) of the University of Ilorin Act 1990 would not avail the respondent after refusing to give the lecturers opportunity to defend themselves even though their participation in the industrial action was considered by the university as scandalous and disgraceful.

Reacting, Dr. Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju, the leader of the group of the lecturers, who had had his own sack reversed a few months back, stated that the victory of his colleagues at the court was an indication that the Nigerian judiciary was alive.

Professor Babatunde Sholagberu, one of the affected lecturers, said, “We are grateful to Nigerians who identified with our struggles. It is not easy not to have salaries for eight years as a family man. It has gone further to prove that we can have confidence in the judiciary.”

Also, chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kwara State, Mr. Emmanuel Ayeoribe, said, “I am overwhelmed with joy. This is great news. It is a clear signal; the fallacies of the Unilorin authorities have been exposed.”