The protesting workers shut offices and grounded operations at the law reform commission's headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
Workers of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) in Abuja, on Tuesday, protested the sacking of 12 of their colleagues and called for their immediate reinstatement.
The workers, under the aegis of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) shut offices and grounded operations at the commission's headquarters on Tuesday.
They started the protest with a meeting in a space at about 11.30a.m. on Tuesday.
They chanted solidarity songs, and later, the acting chairperson of ASCSN, Samira Mohammed, expressed the concerns of the protesting unions.
Mrs Mohammed, who doubles as the spokesperson for the joint unions, said the dismissal of the 12 workers, who were between Levels 8 and 9 of the commission, was illegal. She said the process of their dismissal was unknown to the civil service rules, adding that "the action and inaction of the board members who sacked the workers" were illegal.
"This is not our first protest. We had gone out for a particular one, but this is an in-house protest. The staff members are protesting because of the sacking of 12 staff members of the commission. They were sacked illegally, as far as I am concerned. The reason for the sacking is not what we really think is right or the right way to go," she said.
She accused members of the board of the commission of perpetrating different kinds of irregularities, citing as an example a fact-finding committee headed by a member of the board, Larry Collins. She said the committee was unknown to the regulations governing the commission.
Alleged dissolution
They also pointed out an alleged refusal of the board to comply with a presidential order dissolving the board.
Mrs Mohammed said they had submitted letters to the Ministry of Justice, the commission's parent ministry, asking for clarification on the status of the board. She said they did not get an answer from the ministry.
"The unions have asked them to provide reasons why they are still here. We demanded to see letters given to them for a covering or they should obey the instruction of Mr President," he said.
Other workers of the unions who spoke during the protest agreed with Mrs Mohammed.
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Yasir Aminu, while faulting the sacking of the 12 workers, also lamented the poor welfare of the commission.
"The welfare of staff in this place is zero," he said.
Commission's chairperson speaks
But the chairperson of the commission, Jummai Audi, on Tuesday, defended the decision of the board sacking the 12 workers.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES just before the workers' protest started on Tuesday, Mrs Audi said the 12 workers were sacked because their employment breached the recruitment waiver given to the commission.
She said the sacked workers were employed senior staff as against the waiver given to the commission to recruit only junior staff.
"The office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation gave a waiver to the commission to recruit 50 junior staff.
"Initially, that number was not complete. In the process of completing it, they made a mistake by recruiting 12 senior staff members from the office of Human Resources Management.
"When this was discovered, and it became an issue, we held a meeting on how to solve this problem. The only ideal thing we could come up with was to relieve them of their jobs, and that has been done."
She, however, said thr commission would reabsorb the sacked workers if an approval for their recruitment is obtained.
"We will take them back if we have an approval. I am not happy sending them into the labour market, but I'd not rely on humanitarianism against the law," she argued.
