Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has moved to escalate the legal battle over the ongoing industrial action in Abuja by asking the National Industrial Court to commit striking workers to prison for alleged contempt.

The application followed claims that the workers ignored a subsisting court order directing them to suspend the strike.

As reported by Daily Trust, acting through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, the minister obtained Form 48, a statutory notice warning of the consequences of disobeying a court directive. The form is to be served on the workers involved in the action.

Part of the notice read:

“Take note that unless you obey the directions contained in the order of Justice E.D. Subilim of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered 27th day of January 2026, you will be guilty of the contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”

The document, dated January 29, was signed by the Registrar of the Industrial Court, Mr Olajide Balogun.

Court warns of contempt risk

Justice Emmanuel Subilim had earlier ordered the workers to immediately call off the strike pending the determination of the suit before the court.

He ruled that allowing the action to continue could paralyse government operations within the territory while the matter remained unresolved.

The judge acknowledged that workers have the right to embark on strike actions to ventilate grievances. He added that the right is not without limits under Nigerian law.

Relying on Section 18(1)(b) of the Trade Disputes Act, Justice Subilim held that workers are barred from embarking on industrial action once a dispute has been referred to the National Industrial Court. He maintained that the court’s intervention was necessary to preserve order and prevent disruption of essential services.

In his originating summons, Wike argued that the strike failed to meet the requirements of the Trade Disputes Act. He also contended that the Joint Unions Action Committee lacked the legal standing to declare the action, as it is not a registered trade union.

The matter has been adjourned to March 25 for hearing.