Court awards N1bn against transport unions over road blockade in Niger

A Niger State High Court sitting in Minna has ordered the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to pay N1billion in general, exemplary and economic loss to the people of Niger State due to the blockade, barricade and obstruction of major inter-states roads in the state in 2021.

The presiding judge of the court, Justice Makaila Abdullahi, gave the order in Minna on Monday in the suit instituted by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) under the aegis of Yal Almajiri Endowment Initiative.

The court declared the week-long blockade and obstructions of Niger roads as illegal and unconstitutional which impede the free movement of the plaintiffs and other road users.

The court also granted a perpetual order restraining the defendants from further blockade and obstructing the affected roads or any other roads in Niger State.

However, counsel to the first defendant, NARTO, Barr. Job Okebe, said he will study the judgment with a view to appealing the court’s verdict.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the judgment was delivered by the court, Okebe insisted that the judgment cannot stand in Appeal Court.

Similarly, in a swift reaction, the coordinator of Yal Almajiri Initiative said the judgment is a victory for the ordinary people of Niger State who suffered the hardships resulting from the action of the trailer drivers who blocked all roads in Niger State at that time.  (Nigerian Tribune)