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 for alleged disobedience of a court order.
The move followed the decision of the workers to resume their strike despite a restraining order issued by the National Industrial Court on January 27 2026 directing them to suspend the industrial action pending the determination of a suit filed by the FCT Minister. To enforce compliance Wike obtained Form 48 a statutory notice warning of the consequences of disobeying a court order which serves as a precursor to contempt proceedings.
The Form 48 titled Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Order of Court was obtained on behalf of the minister by Dr Ogwu James Onoja a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN. The notice dated January 29 and signed by the registrar of the court Mr Olajide Balogun warned that failure to obey the directive of the court could result in imprisonment for contempt.
Justice Emmanuel Danjuma Sublimi who issued the restraining order held that industrial actions must be suspended once a dispute is referred to the National Industrial Court. Relying on Section 18 subsection 1e of the Trade Disputes Act the judge stressed that the law mandates a halt to strikes upon the commencement of legal proceedings and that failure to comply may attract sanctions. He added that public interest in maintaining industrial peace outweighs any inconvenience caused by suspending the strike.
Although the workers claimed their continued strike was justified by a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal Wike’s legal team rejected the argument insisting that only a valid stay of execution could permit resumption of the strike.
The matter has been adjourned to March 25 2026 for hearing. The strike which began on January 19 shut down activities across FCTA secretariats departments agencies area councils and parastatals in Abuja over unresolved demands.
