By Sarah NEGEDU
The National Industrial Court on Tuesday, ordered FCTA workers under the Joint Union Action Committee, JUAC, to immediately suspend their ongoing strike following an interlocutory injunction secured by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
The minister and the FCTA had dragged the JUAC Chairman, Rifkatu Iortyer, and Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, before the court in suit number NICN/ABJ/17/2026, seeking to restrain the union and its agents from further industrial action, picketing or lockouts.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Emmanuel Subilim held that while the dispute before the court met the legal threshold of a trade dispute, the union’s right to strike was not without limits once the matter had been formally referred to the Industrial Court.
The judge noted that the law prohibits workers from sustaining industrial action after a dispute has moved before the court, insisting that any ongoing strike must be halted pending the court’s final decision.
“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,” Justice Subilim ruled.
The court adjourned the substantive hearing to March 23, 2026.
