By Milcah Tanimu

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit brought by some members of the Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) against the association’s leadership under President Magaji Sani. Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon ruled that the plaintiffs filed the suit outside the legally allowed timeframe.

In 2014, the former president of NATA, Michael Omonayi, who was elected in 2013, dismissed and replaced all members of the association’s Board of Trustees, leading to dissatisfaction among certain association members.

The aggrieved members filed the lawsuit on February 12, 2019, in the Federal High Court in Osogbo, which was later transferred to Abuja. At the time, Magaji Sani had become the president and was re-elected in 2021 by members loyal to him, but he was a product of the challenged Board of Trustees.

The plaintiffs alleged that the replacement of all Board of Trustees members without a resolution at the national delegate conference was unconstitutional. They urged the court to declare the removal of the Board of Trustees members null and void.

In delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Olajuwon stated that the case was not filed within the 28 days allowed by law. “The plaintiffs have a right to raise objections to the appointment of the trustee, but they ought to have done so within 28 days when the replacement of the Board of Trustees members occurred,” the judge held. Consequently, the judge dismissed the suit.

The Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association serves as a national professional body for micro, small, and medium-scale auto repairers in the informal economy.