Aniefiok Christopher
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Abuja, has ordered workers on the payroll of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to immediately suspend their ongoing strike action.
The claimants led by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike had dragged the JUAC Chairman, Rifkatu Iortyer, and the Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, before the court in suit number NICN/ABJ/17/2026, seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from embarking on any industrial action, picketing or lockout.
The ongoing strike, which began last Monday after the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum, has paralysed activities across major FCTA offices in Abuja, including the FCTA Secretariat, where security operatives were deployed to restrict access.
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Delivering a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel Subilim, the presiding judge, held that although the dispute before the court constituted a trade dispute, the workers’ right to embark on industrial action was not absolute under the law.
Justice Subilim ruled that once a labour dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court, any industrial action connected to the matter must cease pending the court’s final determination.
“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted, restraining the claimants and representatives from further embarking on any industrial action against the claimant,” the judge ruled.
He added that, “The order shall remain in force, pending the determination of this suit.”
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At the hearing on Monday, counsel for the workers’ union, Maxwell Opara, urged the court to dismiss the motion, arguing that the reliefs sought would amount to determining the substantive suit at the interlocutory stage.
Opara cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Opara Agwu & Anor v. Julius Berger Plc, insisting that directing workers to resume work while salaries remained unpaid was risky. He also urged the court to consider arbitration compelling the FCT minister to attend.
Justice Subilim subsequently adjourned the matter until January 27 for ruling.
Following the court proceedings, counsel for the claimants, James Onoja (SAN), told journalists that the defendants lacked “juristic personality,” arguing that the union was neither recognised under the Companies and Allied Matters Act nor the Trade Union Act, and was therefore an illegal body.
“The people who called the strike are an illegal body. JUAC is not registered under the Trade Union Act, and because of that, they cannot call a strike. So, this strike is illegal. That is our contention, and that is what we are arguing before the court.
“The most important thing is that we are talking about a government that is ready to listen. The mediation was going on, and they came to court, and then there are processes to be followed before you declare a strike. That process was not followed,” he stated.
Opara, on his part, said the union had written 11 correspondences to the minister, outlining its grievances and calling for mediation, arguing that the matter should have been referred for alternative dispute resolution.
“This time he (Wike) is wasting in court trying to intimidate workers, is it not enough to talk to workers? So, we established before the court that we expected them to apply that the court should refer this matter to mediation. But they were interested in calling off the strike. And we are now saying that if you call off the strike, you want an angry, hungry man to go and start up work? That is even more dangerous,” he said.
Asked why the defendants sought to join the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress in the suit, Opara responded, “If you watch the process, it is only the President of JUAC and the Secretary in person. They did not even sue them as the president or secretary; they just sued them.”
“So, the implication is that, if the court orders that the strike should be called off, the order is only binding on two persons. And in our counter-affidavit, we established the fact that they are under Labour and TUC. And we are saying that Labour and TUC, if you watched a couple of days ago, they issued a press statement, giving directives that other affiliated bodies should join in a solidarity strike. And we are saying that it is proper for us to join them because they are necessary parties,” Opara argued.
Workers picket court
Meanwhile, staffers of the FCT Administration and the Federal Capital Development Agency, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress, picketed the premises of the Industrial Court ahead of Monday’s proceedings, demanding the removal of the Minister of the FCT.
The action followed a directive from the NLC, which threw its weight behind the industrial action, describing it as justified in the face of what it termed persistent violations of workers’ rights by the FCTA management and political leadership.
The labour union also accused the FCTA of wage abuse, intimidation of workers and failure to meet statutory obligations.
Protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Wike must go!”, “Abuja no be Rivers”, “Pay promotion arrears”, “Enough is enough”, “Pay us our pension now”, “Continued neglect of workers’ welfare”, “Respect Civil Service rules” and “No working tools”.
Other unions, including the Nigerian Union of Teachers, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, the National Union of Electricity Employees, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists FCT chapter, among others, have also joined the strike.
