A National Industrial Court (NICN) in Abuja has proscribed further industrial action by workers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and granted a legal bid by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and the FCTA to restrain union leaders and staff from continuing their ongoing strike. The ruling came amidst a dispute over welfare, promotions and entitlements that has shut down several government offices in the capital.
The industrial action declared indefinite by members of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC) on January 19, 2026 over unresolved issues including promotion arrears and wage awards resulted in the closure of the FCTA Secretariat and other departmental offices across Abuja. Workers asserted that repeated efforts to engage FCTA management and the minister had failed, prompting their decision to withdraw services as allowed under labour laws.
In response, Wike and the FCTA filed a lawsuit at the NICN Abuja Division seeking an interlocutory injunction to halt the strike, arguing that the industrial action threatened to cripple public service delivery. On January 21, 2026, Honourable Justice E. D. Subilim granted the government’s application, ordering that JUAC leaders and members, along with their agents, be restrained from picketing, lockouts, road blockades or any disruptive activity that could paralysie FCTA operations.
The order expressly bars the union from resuming further industrial actions, with the court authorising substituted service of court processes such as publication in a national newspaper and posting at the JUAC office at the FCTA Secretariat after repeated absence of the union’s leaders in court proceedings.
Unions have maintained that their strike is lawful and justified, saying there has been no formal agreement reached on their core demands and rejecting the government’s claims that most issues had been addressed. They argue that the court’s ruling seeks to stifle legitimate industrial action and are continuing to weigh their next steps.
The ruling underscores growing tensions between the FCTA administration and its workforce and places the matter at the centre of labour-management negotiations in Nigeria’s capital, even as the legal order restricts further strike action pending substantive hearing.
