LAGOS— The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Lagos has ordered the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Mustapha Adekunle, (Sego) and the union’s Secretary, Usman Teslim, to appear before it on October 15, 2026, to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying the court’s judgment recognising the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) as an independent trade union.
Justice Isaac Essien (PhD) issued the order after dismissing a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the committal proceedings and holding that the cited officials were properly served with the requisite contempt processes.
The court rejected the officials’ contention that they were not personally served with Forms 86 and 87, holding that it had earlier granted leave for substituted service and that the respondents were fully aware of the proceedings, having filed processes through counsel.
Justice Essien ruled that the officials could not deny service after participating in the proceedings and described the objection as an attempt to elevate technicalities over substantial justice.
The court consequently dismissed the preliminary objection and awarded N2 million in costs in favour of the judgment creditors.
In the substantive committal proceedings, Justice Essien awarded a further N3 million in costs against the respondents and directed the NURTW Chairman and Secretary to personally appear before the court on October 15 to explain why they should not be committed to prison for their alleged continued disobedience of the court’s orders.
The contempt proceedings arose from allegations that despite the judgment delivered on December 11, 2025, officials of the NURTW continued issuing daily, weekly and security tickets to commercial tricycle operators in Lagos State and continued organising tricycle operations contrary to the orders of the court.
Read Also: Court Summons INEC Chairman Over Alleged Contempt in NRM Leadership Dispute
The December 11, 2025 judgment directed the Lagos State Government, the Commissioner for Transportation, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Incorporated Trustees of Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), the Registered Trustees of Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association of Lagos State (TODAL), the NURTW and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to recognise TOAN as an independent trade union under the Trade Unions Act.
Justice Essien had held that the Lagos State Government lacked the legal authority to compel TOAN to operate under or merge with NURTW or RTEAN and ordered that TOAN and its members be allowed to operate freely in Lagos State without interference.
The court also restrained the defendants from obstructing TOAN’s lawful activities and awarded N5 million in damages against the Lagos State Government and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice for interfering with the association’s operations.
Earlier in the proceedings, the court dismissed applications by the first, second, third, fifth and seventh judgment debtors seeking a stay of execution of the December 2025 judgment, holding that there was no competent appeal before the Court of Appeal to justify suspending the enforcement of its decision.
Justice Essien ruled that the applicants failed to comply with the mandatory requirements for a stay of execution and ordered the first, second, third, fifth and seventh judgment debtors to pay N1 million each as costs to the judgment creditors.
Before adjourning, the judge criticised the practice of filing fresh court processes after a matter had been reserved for ruling, describing it as unprofessional and inconsistent with established court procedure.
