By Ayomide Otitoju
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has applied to the National Industrial Court (NIC) for an order to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison for alleged disobedience of a court directive suspending their industrial action.
The application followed the workers’ decision to resume their strike despite an order issued by the court on January 27, directing them to halt the action pending the determination of a suit filed against them by the FCT Minister.
As part of the move, Wike obtained Form 48, a statutory court notice that outlines the consequences of disobeying a court order. The document, titled “Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Order of Court,” was secured by his counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ogwu James Onoja, and is to be served on the striking workers.
The notice warns that failure to comply with the January 27 order of Justice Emmanuel Sublimi would amount to contempt of court and could result in imprisonment. The Form 48, dated January 29, was signed by the Registrar of the National Industrial Court, Olajide Balogun, and is expected to precede formal contempt proceedings.
Justice Sublimi had earlier ordered the FCTA workers to suspend their strike following an application by the FCT Minister seeking to compel them to return to work. The suit named the President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Umar Saleh, as respondents.
In his ruling, the judge held that all industrial actions must be suspended once a dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court. Citing Section 18(1)(e) of the Trade Disputes Act, he noted that the filing of an originating summons constitutes such a referral and mandates the suspension of strikes to allow for proper dispute resolution.
Justice Sublimi further warned that failure to comply with the provisions of the Act could attract sanctions, stressing that the public interest in maintaining industrial peace outweighs any inconvenience arising from suspending the strike.
Although the workers justified their resumption of the strike on the basis of a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal, Wike’s legal team rejected the argument. According to Onoja (SAN), the filing of an appeal does not automatically stay the execution of a court order.
“Court orders are not made in vain. They are made to be obeyed for sanity to prevail in the society,” the senior lawyer stated, urging the workers to comply with the ruling to avoid further legal consequences.
