The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, has granted a temporary injunction filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, compelling workers under the Joint Union Action Committee to suspend their ongoing strike.
Wike and the FCTA dragged the Chairman of the Joint Union Action Committee, Rifkatu Iortyer, and its secretary, before the court, seeking an order restraining them from embarking on any industrial action or lockout.
Delivering his ruling this Tuesday, Justice E.D. Subilim, held that although the matter before the court was a trade dispute and had met the required legal conditions, the defendants’ right to embark on industrial action was not absolute.
He ruled that workers were prohibited from participating in a strike once a dispute had been referred to the National Industrial Court, adding that where such a strike was already ongoing, it must cease pending the determination of the case.
The court adjourned the matter until the 23rd of March, 2026, for the hearing of the substantive suit.