Barrister Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has requested an order from the National Industrial Court to imprison the striking employees of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for allegedly disobeying court orders.
The workers’ disobedience to the court’s order stemmed from their decision to resume their strike in spite of the court’s January 27 order to halt it until the outcome of the lawsuit filed against them by the FCT Minister.
In order to show his disapproval of the workers’ disregard for the Industrial Court’s ruling, the FCT Minister secured form 48, a court document outlining the penalties for disobeying the order, and served it to the striking workers.
On behalf of Wike, legal expert Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of the Bar and Bench Chambers in Abuja, secured form 48, which requires the employees to comply with court orders or face jail time as required by law.
Contempt charges would follow the “Notice of Consequence of disobedience of order of Court” form 48.
“Note that you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison if you do not follow the instructions contained in the order of Honourable Justice E. D. Sublimi of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered on January 27, 2026.”
Mr. Olajide Balogun, the Industrial Court Registrar, signed the notice of consequences for disobeying the court decision dated January 29.
On January 27, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) employees were ordered by Justice Emmanuel Danjuma Sublimi of the National Industrial Court to halt their industrial action while the FCT Minister’s original summons was heard and decided.
The judge’s decision came after the FCT Minister, acting through Ogwu James Onoja SAN, requested a court order requiring the striking FCTA employees to resume their jobs.
The Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC) President and Secretary, Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, were named as respondents in the lawsuit by the FCT Minister.
Justice Subilim had concluded that industrial action, including strikes, must be suspended after a matter has been referred to the National Industrial Court.
The court had observed, using Section 18(1)E of the Trade disagreement Act, that the suspension ensured the disagreement was appropriately resolved and that continuing strikes must cease at the initiation of an action by originating summons, which constitutes a referral.
The judge added that there could be consequences for not adhering to Section 18 of the Act.
He highlighted that the public interest in maintaining industrial peace surpasses any inconvenience created by postponing the strike.
Nevertheless, the employees have not yet respected or complied with the court’s ruling, four days after it was served to them.
The notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal against Justice Sublimi’s decision served as the basis for the striking workers’ decision to resume their strike, but Wike’s legal team dismissed the argument.
The Onoja SAN legal team argued that the workers have no right to resume the strike until there is a specific court order delaying the implementation of the Industrial Court verdict. They also recommended the workers to uphold the law in order to escape the wrath of the court.
“Court orders are not made in vain,” the senior attorney stated in the court documents. They must be followed in order for society to remain sane.
Recall that Justice Sublimi postponed the substantive matter until March 25, 2026, following the issuance of the restraining injunction against the strike action.
Due to what they called “unmet demands” by the Federal Government, employees of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority began an industrial action on January 19 and shut down operations throughout Abuja.
All FCTA Secretariats, Departments, agencies, Area Councils, and parastatals were impacted by the strike.
