The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, urging immediate intervention in what it describes as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) “prolonged failure” to comply with a subsisting court judgment ordering the reinstatement of Mrs Anukwa Annastasia Nneka, a former employee of the Authority.
In a letter dated 29 August 2026, RULAAC stated: “We respectfully request your intervention concerning the prolonged failure of the NCAA, an agency under your Ministry’s supervisory purview, to implement a judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) ordering the reinstatement of Mrs Anukwa Annastasia Nneka.”
Mrs Anukwa was dismissed by NCAA on 27 August 2015, reportedly while on approved leave. After nearly a decade of litigation, the NICN delivered judgment in her favour on 13 December 2024, ordering her reinstatement.
However, despite enforcement processes and multiple court rulings striking out NCAA’s applications for leave to appeal, the Authority has yet to comply.
RULAAC noted that the Court of Appeal struck out NCAA’s application on 23 April 2026, yet the Authority continues to resist reinstatement.
“It is important to emphasise that an application for leave to appeal is not, in itself, an appeal, nor does the mere filing of such an application automatically suspend the operation or enforceability of a subsisting judgment,” the organisation stressed.
According to Mrs Anukwa, NCAA officials have claimed that the judgment has been set aside.
RULAAC challenged this assertion, stating: “If the judgment of the National Industrial Court has indeed been set aside, varied or stayed by a competent appellate court, there should be an identifiable judicial decision or order to that effect.”
The group warned that relying on successive applications to indefinitely postpone compliance would be “deeply troubling” and undermine respect for judicial authority.
RULAAC requested that the Minister demand clarification from NCAA on: The current legal status of the NICN judgment, the precise nature of pending appellate proceedings, any subsisting order of stay of execution and any appellate order setting aside or varying the NICN judgment.
The organisation urged the Minister to act within seven days of receiving the petition, stating: “The authority and credibility of the judiciary ultimately depend upon compliance with its decisions, particularly by public institutions.”
Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, concluded: “A situation in which a citizen successfully prosecutes a case for many years, obtains judgment, yet remains unable to enjoy the fruits of that judgment raises legitimate concerns about access to justice, obedience to judicial authority and the rule of law.”
