The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has approached the National Industrial Court seeking an order to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison, accusing them of disobeying a subsisting court directive.
The allegation of disobedience followed the workers’ decision to resume their industrial action despite an order issued by the court on January 27, directing them to suspend the strike pending the determination of a suit filed against them by the FCT Minister.
In furtherance of the move, the Minister obtained Form 48, a statutory court document that outlines the legal consequences of failing to comply with a court order. The document is to be served on the striking workers as a warning to either obey the order or face imprisonment.
Form 48 was procured by Wike’s counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ogwu Onoja, acting on behalf of the Minister, with the aim of compelling the workers to comply with the court’s directive or risk committal to prison in accordance with the law.
The document, titled “Notice of Consequence of disobedience of order of Court”, is a precursor to the initiation of contempt proceedings.
It states, “Take note that unless you obey the directions contained in the order of Honourable Justice E. D Sublimi of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered 27th day of January 2026, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”
The notice, dated January 29, was signed by the Registrar of the National Industrial Court, Olajide Balogun.
Justice Emmanuel Sublimi of the National Industrial Court had earlier, on January 27, ordered the FCTA workers to halt their strike action pending the hearing and resolution of the originating summons filed by the FCT Minister.
The ruling followed an application brought by Wike through his counsel, Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), in which the Minister sought an order compelling the striking workers to immediately return to their duties.
In the suit, the Minister listed the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, respectively, as respondents.
Justice Sublimi held that once a labour dispute is referred to the National Industrial Court, all forms of industrial action, including strikes, must be suspended.
Relying on Section 18(1)(e) of the Trade Dispute Act, the court noted that such suspension is necessary to allow for proper resolution of disputes, adding that the filing of an originating summons amounts to a formal referral of the matter to the court.
The judge further warned that failure to comply with the provisions of Section 18 of the Act could attract sanctions.
He stressed that the public interest in maintaining industrial harmony outweighed any hardship that might arise from suspending the strike action.
Although the workers justified their decision to resume the strike by citing a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal against Justice Sublimi’s ruling, Wike’s legal team rejected that position.
According to Onoja (SAN), the absence of a specific court order staying the execution of the Industrial Court’s ruling means the workers have no legal justification to continue the strike. He advised them to comply with the order and conduct themselves as law-abiding citizens to avoid sanctions.
As stated in the court documents, “Court orders are not made in vain. They are made to be obeyed for sanity to prevail in the society”.
What you should know
The dispute highlights the legal limits of industrial action once a matter has been referred to the National Industrial Court.
Under Nigerian labour law, strikes must be suspended during active court proceedings to preserve industrial peace. The use of Form 48 signals the court’s readiness to enforce compliance through contempt proceedings if necessary.
The case also underscores the tension between workers’ rights to protest and the judiciary’s authority to regulate labour disputes in the interest of public order.
