A fresh legal intervention has brought a temporary pause to the industrial action involving staff of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, following an order issued by the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the court directed all affected workers to immediately suspend the ongoing strike, stressing that the matter had entered a judicial phase that overrides continued industrial action.
Presiding over the case, Justice Emmanuel Subilim acknowledged that the dispute qualifies as a trade disagreement.
However, he emphasised that workers’ rights to strike are subject to legal limits once a court has been formally engaged.
According to the judge, allowing the strike to continue while the case is under consideration would undermine the authority of the court and disrupt orderly dispute resolution.
He noted that parties are expected to maintain the status quo until a final decision is reached.
“As soon as a trade dispute is referred to this court, any ongoing industrial action must stop,” Subilim said, explaining that judicial intervention triggers an obligation for restraint on all sides.
Consequently, the court granted an interlocutory injunction barring the workers and their representatives from embarking on further strike actions linked to the dispute.
“The claimants are restrained from continuing any form of industrial action pending the determination of this suit,” the judge said.
Meanwhile, the order will remain in force until the court concludes hearing on the substantive issues raised in the case, effectively putting negotiations and protests on hold for now.
Further developments are expected as proceedings continue.