Despite a court ruling requiring them to return to work, the striking unions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have persisted in their industrial strike action.
According to reports, on January 19, employees of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) under the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) started an indefinite strike over unresolved welfare issues.
JUAC embarked on the industrial action to appeal for urgent action to resolve the welfare issues affecting their “morale and productivity”.
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Recall that in support of their counterparts at the FCTA and the FCDA, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) joined the strike on Monday.
The workers are requesting, among other things, the payment of five-month wage awards, unpaid promotion arrears from 2023 and 2024, full payment of 13 months’ hazard allowance, and 22 months’ rural allowance for health professionals.
Additional demands include the repayment of pension and National Housing Fund deductions, the cessation of employee intimidation, and better working conditions and staff welfare.
In a lawsuit filed by the FCT authorities to halt the industrial action, the National Industrial Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the FCTA employees to halt the strike until further hearings.
The injunction was made by Judge Emmanuel Subilim in response to an application submitted by the FCTA and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
According to a court document our correspondent saw on Wednesday, the leaders of the striking unions, Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, are defendants in the lawsuit, while Wike and FCTA are claimants.
The application before the court was for “an Order of injunction to restrain the Defendants in the manner sought on the face of the Motion paper,” according to the document, which was signed by the Registrar and dated Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Strike continues
However, reports have revealed that the FCT workers have not yet returned to work in spite of the industrial court’s injunction.
The majority of schools and medical institutions in the Bwari Area Council are still under lock and key, according to an investigation on Wednesday.
As early as eight in the morning, students at Government Day Secondary School, Dutse Alhaji, Junior Secondary School, Ushafa, and LEA Primary School, Ushafa, were instructed to return home.
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An official at the Ushafa LEA Primary school told news men on condition of anonymity that there was no memo indicating that the strike has been called off.
“The order was only for Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh and I believe they have resumed”, he said.
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