The Republic
The Constitution

3rd Alteration2010· Act No. 3, 2010

Constitution (Third Alteration) Act, 2010

Established the National Industrial Court as a superior court of record — §§254A–F.

The record

The Third Alteration Act elevated the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) from a statutory tribunal under the Trade Disputes Act to a superior court of record under the Constitution. The Act inserted new sections 254A to 254F into Chapter VII (the Judicature).

The NICN now has exclusive jurisdiction over labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations, the application of international labour conventions, factories, occupational safety and any matter incidental thereto — civil and criminal. Its appeals lie to the Court of Appeal as of right on questions of fundamental rights, and with leave on all other matters.

The Act was the only one of the three 2010 alterations to add new provisions rather than amend existing text. It is the foundation of every employment, trade-union and pension dispute in the country.

Sections altered

  • §6

    Added the NICN to the list of superior courts of record.

  • §254A

    Establishment of the National Industrial Court.

  • §254B

    Appointment of the President and Judges of the NICN.

  • §254C

    Jurisdiction of the NICN — exclusive over labour and industrial matters.

  • §254D

    Practice and procedure of the NICN.

  • §254E

    Appeals from the NICN to the Court of Appeal.

  • §254F

    Rules of court — made by the President of the NICN.

Notable cases

  • Skye Bank v. Iwu (2017)

    (2017) LPELR-42595(SC)

    Appeals from the NICN on non-fundamental-rights matters require leave of the Court of Appeal.

Methodology

Tier 1 · primary

Courts. Gazettes. National archives.

Tier 2 · corroborating

OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.

Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged

Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.