The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has applied to the National Industrial Court for an order to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison over alleged disobedience of a court order.
The workers resumed their strike despite a January 27 court ruling by Justice Emmanuel Sublimi, which ordered the suspension of the industrial action pending the determination of a suit filed by the FCT Minister.
Wike’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ogwu Onoja, obtained Form 48, a legal notice outlining the consequences of violating the court order. The notice, titled “Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Order of Court,” was signed by the Registrar of the Industrial Court, Olajide Balogun, on January 29.
The notice reads:
“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.”
Justice Sublimi’s order followed Wike’s application seeking to compel FCTA workers to return to work. The suit lists the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, as respondents.
The judge cited Section 18(1)E of the Trade Dispute Act, noting that ongoing strikes must be suspended once a dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court to ensure proper resolution. He emphasized that public interest in maintaining industrial peace outweighs any inconvenience caused by halting the strike and warned that noncompliance could attract sanctions.
Although the workers cited a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal against Justice Sublimi’s ruling, Wike’s legal team rejected the claim. Onoja SAN’s team maintained that, in the absence of a specific court order staying the Industrial Court ruling, the strike has no legal basis and urged workers to comply to avoid contempt proceedings.
“Court orders are not made in vain. They are made to be obeyed for sanity to prevail in the society,” the legal team stated in court papers.
