By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS — THE Court of Appeal in Lagos has struck out an application by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, paving the way for the enforcement of a judgment ordering the reinstatement of a former employee, Mrs Annastasia Anukwa, whose dismissal was declared unlawful.
A three-member panel of the appellate court comprising Justices Folasade Ojo, Muslim Hassan and Polycarp Kwahar struck out NCAA’s motion on April 23, 2026, for want of diligent prosecution.
The court noted that counsel to the applicant had been duly served with a hearing notice on April 20, 2026, but failed to pursue the application.
Consequently, the motion filed on March 19, 2025, was dismissed.
The development follows a judgment delivered on December 13, 2024, by the National Industrial Court in Uyo, which ordered NCAA to reinstate Mrs Anukwa and pay all outstanding salaries, allowances and entitlements lost as a result of her dismissal.
Despite the judgment, Mrs. Anukwa, through a petition addressed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, complained that the court’s orders had yet to be fully implemented by the aviation agency.
In the petition, she urged the minister to intervene and ensure compliance with the court’s decision, which set aside her summary dismissal and directed her reinstatement.
Mrs Anukwa had instituted the suit against NCAA in November 2015, challenging the termination of her employment and seeking declarations that her appointment enjoyed statutory protection and that her dismissal was unlawful.
She also sought an order setting aside the dismissal, reinstatement to her position, payment of all salary arrears and entitlements, including N666,520 allegedly withheld for January and February 2015, as well as damages and costs.
The claimant told the court that she joined the NCAA on July 30, 2001, and rose through the ranks to become an Assistant Chief Accountant on Grade Level 13 Step 08. She maintained that her performance records were consistently rated excellent.
According to her, the dispute arose after issues relating to her redeployment and deferred annual leave. She contended that she was wrongly accused of absconding from duty and subsequently dismissed without due process.
NCAA, however, argued that she disobeyed a redeployment directive, bypassed established reporting channels, and absented herself from work without approval.
In its judgment, the National Industrial Court rejected the agency’s position, holding that the claimant was neither properly queried nor subjected to the disciplinary procedures stipulated under NCAA’s conditions of service before her dismissal.
Justice S. Danjidda held that the NCAA, being a statutory body established under the Civil Aviation Act, operates under conditions of service that have the force of law, thereby conferring statutory protection on the claimant’s employment.
The court declared the dismissal null and void, ordered her reinstatement, and directed the NCAA to pay all withheld salaries and entitlements.
The court granted all reliefs sought by the claimant except her claim for litigation costs.
