The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has escalated his showdown with striking FCTA workers, seeking their imprisonment for defying a court order halting their industrial action.
The National Industrial Court had on January 27, 2026, ordered the workers to suspend their strike pending the outcome of a suit brought by Wike. Yet, four days later, the workers resumed their strike, prompting the minister to act.
Through his lawyer, Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, Wike obtained Form 48—a formal notice warning the workers that ignoring the court’s order would amount to contempt and could land them in prison. Signed by the court’s Registrar, Mr. Olajide Balogun, the notice makes the consequences clear: obey the court order or face legal sanctions.
Justice Emmanuel Danjuma Sublimi, who issued the original injunction, had stressed that industrial action must be suspended once a dispute is referred to the National Industrial Court, citing Section 18(1)E of the Trade Dispute Act. The judge underscored that ensuring industrial peace outweighs the temporary inconvenience of halting a strike.
The workers claim their resumption of strike is backed by a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, but Wike’s legal team dismissed this argument, insisting that no appeal automatically overrides the Industrial Court’s order unless a stay of execution is explicitly granted.
“Court orders are not made in vain,” said Dr. Onoja in court papers. “They exist to ensure law and order prevail in society.”
The Industrial Court has adjourned the substantive hearing to March 25, 2026. Meanwhile, the strike—launched on January 19, 2026—has paralyzed operations across all FCTA secretariats, departments, agencies, area councils, and parastatals, as workers protest what they call “unmet demands” by the federal government.
With this move, Wike signals zero tolerance for court defiance, raising the stakes in a bitter standoff that could reshape labour relations in the FCT
Wike Moves to Jail FCTA Striking Workers Over Court Defiance
