Three Wheelers Still In Court To Enforce Rights —Counsel

The Three Wheelers Beneficiaries and Operators Association of Nigeria, TWBOAN, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria has debunked reports that its case against the Lagos State government, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Lagos State chapter and others was dismissed by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja.

Reacting to a newspaper report, the counsel to the association, Barrister Lukman Imam expressed shock that the solicitor to the defendants, Mr. Toyin Sodiq was quoted in the report as saying that a case which was struck out due to some little anomalies by Justice Steven Adah, was dismissed.

Describing the act as a deliberate attempt to mislead his clients, the plaintiffs’ lawyer wondered how his colleagues could not distinguish between a dismissed and a struck out case, revealing that the Three Wheelers are still in the same court to enforce their rights.

Says Barrister Lukman Imam: “When a case is dismissed, it shows that it has been heard on its merit and cannot be opened again, but when a case is struck out for one reason or the other, the case can still be reopened in the same court and that is exactly what we have done.

“The earlier suit number FHC/IKJ/CS/36/2010 which was filed by Three Wheelers in July 2010, was struck out by the court on 12 June 2012 on the ground that there are discrepancies in the arrangements of sections of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, relied upon by us, but two days after, we were back in the same court with fresh suit number FHC/IKJ/CS/133/2012 wherein the sections of the law have been arranged as desired by the court for the case to be heard on merit.”

The Three Wheelers Association and its leaders are praying the court to declare as illegal, the directive of the state government mandating them to join the NURTW, insisting on the enforcement of their rights as an autonomous entity.

Barrister Imam also described the inclusion of the Lagos State Attorney-General’s name in the report as one of those sued, as a mischievous act, calling on the state governor and the Inspector-General of Police to call members of the NURTW and their cronies to order, as they had threatened to forcefully invade the parks of the Three Wheelers Association.