The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and their affiliates have been prohibited from initiating any form of strike or industrial action by the National Industrial Court.
The court ruled that the two labour unions must halt their nationwide strike, which was scheduled to begin on November 14.
Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip, President of the Court, issued the restraining order in response to an ex-parte application presented by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
By invoking sections 17 and 19 of the National Industrial Court Act, Justice Kanyip ordered the organised labour to comply with the restraining order.
The Federal Government and the AGF, represented by their lawyer Tijani Gazali, argued in the ex-parte application that the strike should be prevented to avoid imposing severe hardships on law-abiding citizens and businesses.
During the ex-parte application, Gazali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Director of Civil Appeals in the Federal Ministry of Justice, highlighted the hardships faced by Nigerians on Thursday due to the labor unions blocking entrances to the main Airports.
He expressed concern that if the planned strike continued, it could lead to a breach of peace in the country.
Justice Kanyip, persuaded by the government’s arguments, acknowledged that the court has the power to intervene and maintain peace and tranquility.
As a result, the judge granted all the requests of the federal government outlined in the motion paper.
Additionally, Justice Kanyip ordered that the restraining order be posted on the wall of the last known address of the two defendants to ensure their awareness of the court’s position.
