LEGAL ASPECTS OF JOB-SECURITY IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

The purpose of this study was to identify procedural errors made by university administrations in processing senior staff removals from employment in Nigerian universities and to determine what legal rights of senior staff members exist in relation to security of employment as defined by the law courts, the statutes establishing universities, university internal rules & regulations, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.;The data for the study, namely, court decisions, statutes establishing universities, university internal regulations, and the Constitution, were obtained from the various Nigerian Universities, Law Courts, and Nigerian Law Reports. From the analysis of the data, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) The relatively large number of lawsuits challenging administrative decisions on job-security during the last five years in relation to the previous years of the 20-year period covered in the study (1963-1982) suggests an up-swing in senior staff litigations in Nigerian universities in recent years. (2) Violation of relevant statutory provisions by university authorities and government functionaries was the major reason cited most frequently by the courts in reversing the decisions of university authorities in removing senior staff members from employment. (3) Failure to comply strictly with the requirements of natural justice in processing senior staff removals from employment was another important reason cited by the courts in overruling the decisions of university authorities. (4) The courts usually set aside the decisions of a university statutory body to remove a senior staff member from office or employment if the termination action is not effected by the precise authority prescribed in the statute, or if the body acted beyond the scope of power or in excess of authority. (5) Recent court interpretations of Section 277 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria accord a pensionable senior staff member higher legal status beyond the ordinary master and servant contractual relationship and could, therefore, have rights to continued employment if his removal is considered unlawful. (6) Internal disputes among university staff such as protests over appointment procedures and election of particular persons to positions are matters left entirely in the hands of university authorities to decide without the intervention of the law courts.