WIKE SUED FEDRAL CAPITAL WORKERS AMID INDEFINITE STRIKE, TRAWLS UNION TO NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT AS CAPITAL PARALYSED

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has taken the workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Abuja in a bid to halt an indefinite strike that has crippled government operations across the nation’s capital.

The legal action, filed under suit number NICN/ABJ/17/2026 at the Abuja Division of the court and assigned to Justice E. D. Subilim, names the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC)—representing striking workers—as defendants, with union president Rifkatu Iortyer and secretary-general Abdullahi Saleh sued in their representative capacities. Wike and the FCTA are seeking an order restraining the union and its members from picketing, blocking access roads, shutting down offices, or engaging in any industrial action that disrupts the administration’s work.

The court documents accuse the striking workers of actions that have effectively shut down key public services in Abuja, prompting deployments by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Police Force to limit access to government complexes. Wike’s legal team argued that the strike—triggered after a seven-day ultimatum by workers over unresolved welfare and entitlements lapsed—was unlawful and posed a serious threat to public administration.

At the initial hearing, lawyers for the FCT minister and FCTA were present while union leaders were notably absent. After reviewing the affidavits and written submissions, Justice Subilim granted leave for substituted service, ordering that court papers be published in a national newspaper and pasted at the JUAC office within the FCTA Secretariat in Garki, Abuja, as valid notice to the defendants. The case was adjourned to January 26, 2026, for further hearing.

Despite the court action, the union has vowed to continue the indefinite strike, insisting most of the workers’ demands—particularly promotion arrears and other entitlements—remain unresolved and that its members will stay away from duty until these issues are addressed. The union publicly rejected the court move, describing it as an attempt to intimidate workers rather than engage in meaningful dialogue.

The clash has brought public administration in the Federal Capital Territory to a near standstill, highlighting deep tensions between the FCT minister and organized labour, and raising questions about the limits of judicial intervention in labour disputes in Nigeria.