Court Orders FCTA Workers to Call Off Strike, Resume Duties

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Abuja, has ordered workers under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to immediately call off their ongoing strike and return to work.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Emmanuel Subilim, who held that allowing the workers to continue the industrial action while the subject matter is already before the court would amount to self-help. He noted that although workers have a constitutional right to embark on strike actions, such a right is not absolute.

Justice Subilim referenced Section 18(1)(b) of the Trade Dispute Act, stressing that workers are prohibited from embarking on a strike over issues that have been referred to the National Industrial Court for adjudication. He added that where a strike has already commenced under such circumstances, it must be suspended.

Consequently, the court ordered the striking workers to immediately suspend the industrial action and report back to their duty posts.

The ruling followed a suit filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, alongside the FCTA. The defendants in the case, marked NICN/ABJ/17/2026, are the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Saleh, respectively.

The FCTA workers had embarked on the strike over alleged unresolved welfare issues, including a backlog of five months’ unpaid salaries, long-standing promotion arrears, and poor working conditions within the Federal Capital Territory.