The National Industrial Court in Ibadan on Tuesday imposed a N250, 000 fine on the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State branch, for assaulting a court bailiff.
The bailiff was allegedly assaulted at the NUT secretariat on June 23 when he tried to effect service of a court process in a suit by instituted by the Oyo State Government against the union for embarking on strike.
Justice Faustina Kola-Olalere said the incident had been occurring frequently and the court would not fold its hands and watch the image of the judiciary being ridiculed.
Kola-Olalere said that teachers, who were supposed to inculcate etiquette, were now maltreating a court bailiff for doing his lawful job, saying this attitude was highly condemnable.
She said that the fine must be paid on or before Aug. 12 to serve as a deterrent to others.
Other defendants in the suit are the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Oyo State branch.
At the last hearing, Mr Seun Abimbola, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, who represented the state government, demanded the withdrawal of the suit.
Abimbola told the court that the state wanted to withdraw the suit and substitute it with another one which contained six respondents, saying the initial suit contained only three respondents.
Counsel to NLC and TUC, Mr Yakub Fadare and Femi Aborisade respectively, did not oppose it.
But Mr Olajide Waheed, the counsel representing NUT, opposed the withdrawal of the suit, praying the court to dismiss it.
In her ruling, Kola-Olalere said that the NUT had failed to give sufficient proof to the court that would prevent it from granting the application of the claimant.
She consequently granted the application of the claimant to withdraw the suit and struck it out.
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