Nurses Take Legal Action Against Health Minister and Others Over New Guidelines For Certificate Verification
A number of Nigerian nurses have taken legal action against the country's minister of health and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in response to the new regulations regarding verification of nursing certificates.
On February 7, 2024, the NMCN released a circular updating the procedures for obtaining verification of midwives' and nurses' certificates.
The council has mandated that candidates with less than two years of post-qualification experience from the date of permanent practicing license issuance are not eligible to have their certificates verified by international nursing boards and councils. March 1, 2024 was the effective date of the new standards.
In response to this, nurses in Lagos and Abuja staged protests to call for the new guidelines to be reversed.
Nevertheless, a group of disgruntled nurses representing their colleagues took the following entities to court: the Federal Ministry of Health, the Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the National Industrial Court in Abuja.
Desmond Aigbe, Kelvin Ossai, Catherine Olatunji-Kuyoro, Tamunoibi Berry, Osemwengie Osagie, Abiola Olaniyan, Idowu Olabode, and Olumide Olurankinse are the complainants in the suit marked: NICN/ABJ/76/2024.
While the case is being decided, they are requesting that the court prevent the defendants or their representatives from carrying out the NMCN circular.
The nurses likewise asked the court to put the new regulations on hold until further notice.
The reliefs being sought include a temporary restraining order that will suspend the 2nd Defendant's "REVISED GUIDELINES FOR VERIFICATION OF CERTIFICATE(S) WITH THE NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL OF NIGERIA" from their previously planned implementation on March 7, 2024, as stated in the 2nd Defendant's circular dated February 7, 2024, until the hearing and decision of the Claimants/Applicants Originating Summons in this suit.
"An interlocutory order restraining the Defendants, their Partners, parastatals, subjects, counterparts. agents, servants, privies, assigns, or whoever, acting for. with or on behalf of the Defendants from taking any further step that may hinder, restrict, or infringe on the constitutional rights and freedom of nurses and midwives in Nigeria from emigrating to the country to seek better career opportunities and training abroad."
"An interlocutory order of the court mandating the 1st & 2nd Defendants to continue to carry out verification of certificates or any documents requested by applicants, their other intending colleagues, and other members of the Nursing and Midwifery profession within 7 days from the date of such application pending the hearing and determination of the Claimants/Applicants Originating Summons.”
Ode Evans, who represented the plaintiffs in the complaints, informed the court during Wednesday's hearings that he had received the first and second defendants' preliminary objections just moments earlier.
In order to respond to their pleas, he urged the court to postpone the case.
Evans said, “I confirmed the receipt of the application from the first and second defendants this morning. We shall be asking for a date to enable us to file our responses.”
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, the judge, postponed the matter's hearing until May 20.
The Attorney General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Health, neither of whom had legal representation, were to be served with the hearing notice by her order.