The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has approached the National Industrial Court seeking an order to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison over their alleged disobedience of a court order.
The alleged contempt stems from the workers’ decision to resume their strike action despite an order of the court issued on January 27, directing them to suspend the strike pending the determination of a suit filed against them by the FCT Minister.
In a move to enforce compliance and demonstrate his opposition to what he described as a blatant disregard for the authority of the court, the minister has obtained Form 48, a statutory court document that outlines the legal consequences of disobeying a court order. The notice is to be served on the striking workers.
The Form 48 was obtained on Wike’s behalf by Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of the Bar and Bench Chambers, Abuja. The document serves as a formal warning compelling the workers to comply with the court order or face committal to prison in accordance with the law.
The notice, titled “Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Order of Court,” is a precursor to 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 the 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, Mr. Olajide Balogun.
Justice Emmanuel Danjuma Sublimi of the National Industrial Court had, on January 27, ordered workers of the FCTA to suspend their industrial action pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons filed against them by the FCT Minister.
The order followed an application brought by Wike through his counsel, Ogwu James Onoja SAN, seeking a directive compelling the striking workers to return to work.
In the suit, the FCT Minister listed the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, respectively, as respondents.
In his ruling, Justice Sublimi held that industrial actions, including strikes, must be suspended once a trade dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court.
Relying on Section 18(1)(e) of the Trade Disputes Act, the court noted that such suspension allows for the proper resolution of disputes and that ongoing strikes must cease upon the commencement of a suit by originating summons, which constitutes a formal referral.
The judge further warned that failure to comply with Section 18 of the Act could attract sanctions, stressing that the public interest in maintaining industrial peace outweighs any inconvenience that may arise from suspending the strike.
Despite being served with the court order, the workers reportedly resumed their industrial action four days later.
While the striking workers justified their action on the basis of a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal against Justice Sublimi’s ruling, Wike’s legal team dismissed the argument.
Onoja SAN’s legal team maintained that in the absence of an express court order staying the execution of the Industrial Court’s ruling, the workers had no legal basis to resume the strike. They advised the workers to act as law-abiding citizens to avoid the consequences of contempt proceedings.
According to the senior lawyer in the court papers, “Court orders are not made in vain. They are made to be obeyed for sanity to prevail in the society.”
It would be recalled that after granting the restraining order against the strike, Justice Sublimi adjourned the substantive suit to March 25, 2026, for hearing.
The FCTA and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) workers had embarked on the industrial action on January 19, shutting down activities across Abuja over what they described as “unmet demands” by the Federal Government.
The strike affected all FCTA secretariats, departments, agencies, area councils, and parastatals under the FCTA.
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