The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Abuja, has ordered workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to suspend their ongoing strike action.
The order followed an interlocutory injunction granted on Tuesday in a suit filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration against the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC).
In the suit marked NICN/ABJ/17/2026, the claimants had approached the court seeking to restrain the Chairman of JUAC, Rifkatu Iortyer, the Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, and their members from embarking on industrial action, including strikes, picketing, or lockouts.
Delivering his ruling, Justice E.D. 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 industrial action was not absolute.
The judge ruled that once a trade dispute had been referred to the National Industrial Court, workers were prohibited from embarking on a strike. He added that where such an action was already ongoing, it must be suspended pending the determination of the case.
Consequently, the court granted an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants and their representatives from further industrial action against the FCT Administration.
Justice Subilim ruled that the order would remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The case was adjourned to March 23, 2026, for further proceedings.
