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Court To Deliver Ruling Today In FCTA Vs JUAC Strike Case.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja, is set to deliver its ruling today (Tuesday) in the suit filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration (FCTA) against the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) over an ongoing strike that has crippled major government offices in the nation’s capital.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The case was adjourned after lawyers to both parties adopted their arguments on Monday before Justice E.D. Subilim.
In the suit marked NICN/ABJ/17/2026, the FCTA listed JUAC Chairman, Rifkatu Iortyer, and Secretary, Abdullahi Umar Saleh, as defendants, seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the union from further strike actions, picketing, or lockouts.
The industrial action commenced last Monday following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum and has since disrupted operations across key FCTA offices, including the FCTA Secretariat, where security personnel were deployed to restrict access.
While the FCTA insists that most of the workers’ demands have been met, JUAC maintains that several fundamental issues remain unresolved.
During Monday’s proceedings, counsel to the union, Maxwell Opara, urged the court to dismiss the FCTA’s application, arguing that granting the reliefs sought would amount to determining the substantive matter at an interlocutory stage.
Relying on the Supreme Court decision in Opara Agwu & Anor v. Julius Berger Plc, Opara cautioned that compelling workers to resume duties while salary issues remained unsettled could be counterproductive. He also asked the court to consider directing the FCT minister to submit to arbitration.
After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Subilim adjourned the matter to January 27 for ruling on the application for injunction.
Speaking to journalists after the session, counsel to the claimants, James Onoja (SAN), argued that the defendants lacked juristic personality. He contended that JUAC was neither registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) nor recognised under the Trade Union Act.
According to him, “Those who called the strike are an illegal body. JUAC is not registered under the Trade Union Act, and as such, it has no authority to declare a strike. That is our position before the court.
“The government is willing to listen. Mediation was ongoing before they headed to court. There are laid-down procedures before declaring a strike, and those procedures were not followed.”
Opara, however, countered that the union had written no fewer than 11 letters to the minister, outlining its grievances and requestingeeking mediation, insisting that the dispute ought to have been resolved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
“This is an attempt to intimidate workers through the courts. Is dialogue not enough? We made it clear that the proper step was mediation, not an application to force hungry and angry workers back to work. That is even more dangerous,” he said.
On the decision to seek the joinder of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Opara explained that the defendants were sued in their personal capacities.
“If the court orders the strike to be called off, such an order would only bind two individuals. But JUAC operates under Labour and TUC, and both bodies have already issued directives calling for solidarity actions. That makes them necessary parties to this suit,” he argued.
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Infrastructure as a Priority: President Bola Tinubu, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, emphasized that infrastructure is the essential foundation of his administration’s goal of fostering national prosperity.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
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Significance of the New Interchange: During the commissioning of the Arterial Road N16–Ring Road III Intersection connecting Jahi and Gwarimpa, the President described the project as a move toward “freedom of movement” that eliminates chronic traffic gridlock and saves time, fuel, and economic resources.
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Broad Benefits: The President noted that this connection will improve security by removing the congestion that previously hindered movement, while also helping workers return home faster.
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Renewed Hope Agenda: Framing roads as the “arteries of a nation,” the President explained that his administration’s agenda focuses on building critical infrastructure to unlock economic potential and allow Nigerians to thrive.
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National Outlook: Asserting that Nigeria is “not beyond redemption,” the President pointed to the successful completion of the Jahi-Gwarimpa interchange as evidence that focused leadership and political will can deliver results.
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Call for Tax Compliance: Finally, the President urged all Nigerians and FCT residents to diligently pay their taxes and levies, noting that these contributions are vital for the government to undertake further development projects.
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Staff Suspension: INEC has suspended an electoral officer suspected of being involved in the unauthorized release of voter information.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
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Context of the Breach: The issue emerged after voter registration details for actor and politician Emeka Ike were circulated publicly during a dispute related to a political party primary in the Federal Capital Territory.
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Infrastructure Integrity: Preliminary investigations conducted by the commission concluded that there was no hack of its ICT infrastructure, nor was there a broader breach of the national voter register.
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Method of Access: The data was reportedly accessed through authorized credentials held by a staff member participating in the Continuous Voter Registration process.
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Status of Investigations: INEC confirmed that the involved officer was immediately suspended and removed from their duties pending the conclusion of further investigations.
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Collaboration with Authorities: INEC has finished its internal probe and referred the case to the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and data protection regulators.
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Limited Impact: The commission emphasized that the incident was isolated to a single voter record and did not compromise the data of its more than 90 million registered voters.
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Commitment to Security: Moving forward, INEC intends to enhance its data protection protocols and collaborate with security agencies, civil society organizations, and regulators to ensure the safety of citizens’ personal information.
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Case Adjournment: The Court of Appeal in Abuja has postponed the hearing of an appeal regarding the potential deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, and three other political parties until July 7.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
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Procedural Delay: The court moved the hearing date from June 25 to allow the involved parties sufficient time to file and exchange their briefs of argument.
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Reasoning for New Date: Although Accord Party counsel, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), requested a three-day window to file, Justice Abubakar Mohammed explained that the panel’s upcoming official commitments necessitated selecting July 7 as the earliest available date.
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Background of the Dispute: The appeal follows a Federal High Court ruling by Justice Peter Lifu, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC, Accord Party, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional performance benchmarks.
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INEC’s Position: INEC has challenged this deregistration order, arguing that these parties met the necessary constitutional thresholds by securing elective positions in previous elections and providing certificates of return as evidence.
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Stay of Execution: On June 16, the Court of Appeal previously ordered a stay of execution on the Federal High Court’s judgment, preventing INEC from proceeding with the deregistration until the current appeal is decided.
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Procedural Criticism: The appellate court had previously criticized Justice Lifu for ignoring an earlier order to suspend proceedings, noting that such an action undermined the established hierarchy of the courts.
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Origin of the Suit: The original legal challenge was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, who argued that these specific parties failed to meet the electoral performance standards required by the 1999 Constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act.
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