Wike vs workers: FCTA secures court order to break JUAC strike

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The brewing cold war between the Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, and the administration’s workforce reached a legal flashpoint on Thursday, as the FCT Administration successfully moved to disarm the labour unions through the judiciary.

The National Industrial Court NICN in Abuja issued a decisive Order of Interlocutory Injunction, effectively barring the Joint Unions Action Committee JUAC from continuing its indefinite strike, which had threatened to paralyse the capital’s administrative engine.

Following a week of mounting tension over unpaid promotion arrears and statutory entitlements, Justice E. D. Subilim granted the FCTA’s application to restrain the union from any further industrial action.

The order specifically prohibits picketing, lockouts, road blockades, or any activity designed to shut down government operations.

The FCTA’s legal offensive, led by Dr. Ogwu Onoja, SAN, argued that the strike was not only paralysing but fundamentally illegal.

In a strategic manoeuvre, the FCTA is now challenging the very legitimacy of its opponents, questioning whether JUAC—an umbrella body—has the legal standing of a registered trade union under the Trade Disputes Act.

The defendants, JUAC president Rifkatu Iortyer and Secretary Abdullahi Umar Saleh, were notably absent from the proceedings.

Consequently, Justice Subilim approved “substituted service,” ordering that the court summons be posted at the JUAC office in the Area 11 Secretariat and published in a national newspaper to ensure the union cannot claim ignorance of the law.

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