A Federal High Court in Kaduna has ordered the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to reinstate nine cadets of 67 Regular Course who were unlawfully dismissed by the academy authorities after their presidential commissioning on 5th October, 2019.
Also, the court ordered the academy to pay the accrued entitlement of the nine cadets for the years under review.
Presiding Judge, Justice Muhammad Umar, said the action taken by the NDA to withdraw the cadets after their graduation was unconstitutional, unlawful and amounts to conviction to trial.
Parents of the cadets led by Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Daura, the Maradin Daura in Katsina State, had taken the Chief of Army Staff, the Minister of Defence, the Secretary to the State Government, Major General I M Yusuf, NDA, the Chief of Defence Staff and three others to court after their wards were dismissed for allegedly holding a night party after their Passing out Parade officiated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
“The plaintiffs are entitled to be heard before any disciplinary action can be taken against them and there is no place in the proceedings of the defendants that the plaintiffs were granted fear hearing by the NDA before their dismissal. This is unconstitutional,” Justice Umar said.
“The action of the defendants to withdraw the plaintiffs after their graduation is unconstitutional, unlawful and amounts to conviction of trial. The plaintiff should immediately be reinstated and their degrees and entitlements should be awarded and paid having participated in the PoP.
Speaking to the press after the judgment, counsel to the plaintiffs Yunus Ustaz Usman SAN said it is binding on the authorities concerned to obey the judgement of the court.
“We thank Almighty that we have judges who are in for justice at all times and that is a great hope for Nigeria because this cadets spent five years in the academy, there was no query, they graduated, they participated in the PoP, some had first class degrees and after their PoP when they came to collect their certificates then you say you have withdrawn them; it is most unfortunate.”
In his reaction to the judgement defence counsel, Al-Amin Abubakar said his clients will decide on the next step to take.
He stated that they will relate the judgment to them, review it and decide on what to do next adding that there are many options available to them.
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