The National Industrial Court (NIC) sitting in Abuja has struck out an application filed by the Federal Government seeking to stay the execution of its earlier judgment reinstating Prof. Monday Igwe as the substantive Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu.
In Suit No. NICN/ABJ/23M/2026, Justice E.D. Subilim, in a ruling delivered on July 9, 2026 and certified on July 15, 2026, held that the application was incompetent as there was no valid appeal before the Court of Appeal to anchor a stay of execution.
On December 11, 2025, the NIC nullified Prof. Igwe’s removal and ordered his reinstatement to complete his tenure. Dissatisfied, the Federal Government—through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, the Minister of State for Health, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Hospital itself, and Dr. Unaogu—sought to stay execution pending appeal.
Justice Subilim dismissed the application, reiterating that “where there is no competent appeal pending before the appellate court, an application for a stay of execution cannot stand.”
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the applicants asked the court to stay its execution pending the determination of an appeal.
However, Justice Subilim held that the application was incompetent because the applicants had not filed a valid notice of appeal.
The court emphasized that under Nigerian procedural law, a stay of execution is only ancillary to a valid and subsisting appeal. Since the applicants had merely attached an unfiled draft notice of appeal lacking registry stamps, filing date, or proof of payment, the application was fatally defective.
Justice Subilim noted that because the matter was civil in nature, the applicants required leave of the Court of Appeal before filing a competent appeal. An application for leave, he clarified, is not itself an appeal.
The judge criticized the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Unaogu as Medical Director while the case was pending, describing it as “flagrant defiance of the judicial process.”
The court stressed that delaying enforcement would unfairly prejudice Prof. Igwe, whose tenure is set to expire in March 2027.
Counsel to Prof. Igwe, Michael Okorie, welcomed the ruling, affirming that the December 11, 2025 judgment remains valid, enforceable, and binding.
... National Industrial Court Dismisses FG’s Bid to Halt Reinstatement of Prof. Monday Igwe ... Naijaonpoint.