The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday vowed to appeal the order by the National Industrial Court, directing lecturers to resume work immediately.
The union said it had started assembling its lawyers led by a renowned human rights activist, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to file an appeal.
The Chairman of the union, Lagos zone, Adelaja Odukoya, in a statement urged members of the union to remain calm and united to fight till the end.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Abuja had earlier on Wednesday ordered ASUU to immediately suspend the ongoing industrial action, holding that the strike was a breach of the Section 18(1)(2) of the Trade Disputes Act, which prohibits their action.
Justice Polycarp Hamman of NICN said that the use of “shall” in the Act connotes mandatory provision not to embark on the strike pending the determination of the main suit before the court.
The judge noted that the strike has caused irreparable damage to the careers of many students in Nigeria.
Justice Hamman referred the case to the president of the court for reassignment.
ASUU began the strike on February 14 to press home its demands, including the re-negotiation of the 2009 FG-ASUU agreement.
Other demands of ASUU are the adoption of UTAS as a replacement for IPPIS as a payment platform; payment of salary arrears for academic staff; payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); revitalisation funds for the universities; release of White Paper on Visitation Panels that concluded their assignment last year; and non-proliferation of state universities.
Several talks between ASUU and the government did not yield result. The Federal Government subsequently dragged ASUU to court.