Industrial court judgement against NUJ Port Harcourt enters enforcement phase

By Ibrahim Bakare

With the statutory period for lodging an appeal against the judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Port Harcourt Judicial Division, delivered on 4 May 2026, drawing to a close, legal attention has shifted from the courtroom to the enforcement of the court’s orders against the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

The landmark judgment in Suit No. NICN/PHC/04/2018: Mr. Akpekwu Christopher Imbufe & 4 Others v. Mr. Abduwahid Odusile & 8 Others, delivered by Hon. Justice Muhammad A. Hamza, ended an eight-year legal contest arising from the 2018 Correspondents’ Chapel election in Rivers State and has become one of the most significant judicial pronouncements on the interpretation of the NUJ Constitution in recent years.

The suit challenged the interpretation of the provisions of the 2018 Constitution of the Nigeria Union of Journalists regarding membership qualification, eligibility to contest elections, suspension of members and the powers of organs of the Union.

After considering the pleadings, documentary exhibits and oral evidence, the National Industrial Court resolved most of the substantial issues in dispute in favour of the claimants led by Mr. Akpekwu Christopher Imbufe, while some issues relating to election qualification were resolved in favour of the defendants.

The Court further awarded ₦5 million as damages and costs, thereby creating a judgment debt enforceable against the judgment debtors unless lawfully set aside or stayed by the Court of Appeal.

A central issue before the Court was the interpretation of Article 3 of the 2018 Constitution of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, which governs qualification for membership of the Union.

The applicable constitutional provisions require that registration as a member of the Union be made by the National Secretariat upon the recommendation of the State Council. The Constitution further requires that an applicant possess at least a Diploma in Journalism or Mass Communication, or an equivalent Diploma with cognate journalism experience obtained from a recognized institution, together with not less than twelve months’ working experience in a recognized media establishment.

These requirements closely mirrored the framework established under the Nigerian Press Council Act, 1992 (as amended). Section 37 of the Act defines a “journalist” as “any person (not being less than eighteen years of age) engaged in the collection, processing, and dissemination of information for use in the press and who has been accredited by the Council.”

Section 19 of the same Act, titled “Registration as Journalist,” provides that a person shall be entitled to be fully registered if:

“(a) he has attended a course of training recognised by the Council so acquired, with the cognate experience recognised by the Council; or
(b) the course was conducted at an institution so approved, or partly at one such institution and partly at another or others; or
(c) he holds a qualification so approved; or
(d) he holds a certificate of experience issued in pursuance of section 24 of this Act.”

Subsection (2) of Section 19 further preserves a transitional pathway: “a person shall also be entitled to be registered as a journalist if he satisfies the Council that immediately before the commencement of this Act he had not less than five years’ experience as a journalist.”

Subsection (3) adds that an applicant must, in addition to evidence of qualifications, satisfy the Council that he is of good character, has attained the age of 18 years, has not been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, has been trained at an approved mass media institution, possesses “a general professional orientation which covers the basic requirements of information art, leading to a qualification not less than a diploma,” and has a good knowledge of the politics and socio-economic affairs of his society acquired from an approved institution.

The 2018 NUJ Constitution expressly preserved eligibility for journalists who had acquired not less than five years’ experience before the coming into force of the Nigerian Press Council Act, 1992, while also making provision for associate membership for veteran and freelance journalists — a direct reflection of the transitional protection in Section 19(2) of the Act.

The Constitution equally provided that registered journalists were required to subscribe to the NUJ Constitution and Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct before certification by the National Secretariat. It also empowered the National Secretariat to revoke membership where registration was procured through false information, professional misconduct or criminal conviction, while preserving the right of appeal to the National Executive Council. It further prohibited discrimination in membership on grounds of sex, religion, political belief or ethnic origin.

In interpreting these provisions, the National Industrial Court drew an important distinction between qualification to become a member of the Union and qualification to contest elective office within the Union.

The Court held, in substance, that membership qualification under Article 3 is entirely different from election qualification under Article 6 of the Constitution, and that satisfaction of one does not automatically confer the other.

This interpretation has since become one of the most important legal principles emerging from the judgment.

The Court consequently examined whether the claimants satisfied the constitutional requirements for membership under Article 3 and separately considered whether they met the additional constitutional conditions required for contesting the Correspondents’ Chapel election under Article 6.

While the Court held that some of the claimants were not qualified to contest the particular election under the election provisions of the Constitution, it nevertheless found that the disciplinary measures taken against them were not supported by law.

Accordingly, the Court set aside the suspension imposed on the affected members and awarded ₦5 million as damages and costs, thereby reaffirming that disciplinary sanctions imposed outside the Constitution cannot stand.

Another issue attracting legal attention is that while the case was pending before the National Industrial Court, the Nigeria Union of Journalists amended its Constitution by raising the minimum educational qualification for admission into membership from the Diploma standard contained in the 2018 Constitution to Higher National Diploma (HND) or Bachelor’s Degree.

Legal analysts observe that the amendment could not retrospectively govern disputes that had already arisen under the earlier Constitution.

Consistent with settled principles of Nigerian law, Hon. Justice Muhammad A. Hamza interpreted and applied the Constitution that was in force when the cause of action accrued, namely the 2018 NUJ Constitution — a framework itself aligned with the registration and qualification standards set out in Sections 19 and 37 of the Nigerian Press Council Act, 1992.

As the period for filing an appeal approaches expiration, another legal issue has emerged regarding the enforceability of the ₦5 million judgment.

Under Nigerian law, the ₦5 million awarded by the National Industrial Court is a judgment debt and not a voluntary donation or goodwill payment.

Consequently, the Nigeria Union of Journalists is under a legal obligation to satisfy the judgment in full unless the successful litigants voluntarily agree to compromise the debt or the Court of Appeal varies the award.

Reports that the Union may seek to pay ₦3 million instead of the court-awarded ₦5 million amount only to an offer of settlement.

Such an offer has no legal effect unless accepted by every judgment creditor.

Similarly, any proposal that the judgment would be implemented “on the Union’s own terms” has no foundation in law.

A judgment debtor cannot rewrite, reduce or qualify the express orders of a competent court.

Where reinstatement or restoration of rights has been ordered, only reasonable administrative procedures necessary to implement the judgment may be adopted.

Those procedures cannot lawfully be employed to delay, frustrate or diminish the rights already declared by the Court.

Equally significant is the legal position that the filing of a Notice of Appeal does not automatically operate as a stay of execution.

Unless the Court of Appeal specifically grants a stay of execution, every order made by the National Industrial Court remains valid, binding and enforceable.

Accordingly, the successful litigants remain legally entitled to commence enforcement proceedings to recover the ₦5 million judgment debt and secure compliance with every other order contained in the judgment if voluntary compliance is not forthcoming.

Lawyers also note that where any successful litigant dies before enforcement, monetary benefits arising from the judgment ordinarily survive and may be claimed by the duly appointed personal representatives or administrators of the deceased’s estate in accordance with applicable succession laws.

The decision of Hon. Justice Muhammad A. Hamza has therefore become more than a dispute over an election within the Rivers State Correspondents’ Chapel.

It now stands as an important judicial authority on the interpretation of trade union constitutions, the distinction between membership qualification and electoral qualification, the supremacy of constitutional provisions within voluntary associations and the obligation of every organization, including professional unions, to obey valid and subsisting court judgments.

Unless and until the Court of Appeal sets aside, varies or stays the judgment, the decision of the National Industrial Court delivered on 4 May 2026 remains binding on all the parties, and the ₦5 million awarded by the Court continues to subsist as a lawful and enforceable judgment debt under Nigerian law.