Justice E.D. Subilim of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria NICN has granted an interlocutory injunction filed by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) ordering workers under the Joint Union Action Committee JUAC and its leadership to suspend their strike action.
In suit number NICN/ABJ/17/2026, the FCT Minister and the FCTA had prayed the court to restrain the Chairman of JUAC, Rifkatu Iortyer, and its Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, their agents and privies from embarking on, continuing or participating in any industrial action, including picketing or lockout.
Delivering his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Subilim held that although the dispute qualified as a trade dispute and had met the required legal conditions, the right of workers to embark on strike was not absolute.
He held that once a trade dispute had been referred to the National Industrial Court, workers were prohibited from participating in any strike, adding that where such action was already ongoing, it must cease pending the determination of the case.
“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted, restraining the claimants and representatives… from further embarking on any industrial action against the claimant. The order shall remain in force, pending the determination of this suit,” the judge said.
The court adjourned the matter to March 23, 2026, for hearing of the substantive suit.
Justice Subilim had fixed Tuesday for ruling after hearing arguments from counsel to both parties on Monday.
Workers in the FCT had embarked on strike Monday following the expiration of a seven – day notice to the Management to meet their demands which includes unpaid emoluments .
But the FCTA management had claimed that most of the workers’ demands had been met. The workers grounded commercial activities and reportedly stopped the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike from accessing his office
During the hearing, counsel to the workers, Maxwell Opara, urged the court to dismiss the application, arguing that granting the injunction would amount to determining the substantive suit at an interlocutory stage.
However, counsel to the claimants, James Onoja (SAN), had maintained that JUAC l was not registered under the Trade Union Act, insisting that the strike was illegal.
Meanwhile, the workers have vowed not to go to work until their demands are met.
According to some of the workers, they prefer to stay at home instead of going to work to hope for nothing.
