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Court Bars Resident Doctors from Embarking on Strike Planned for January 12
Court Bars Resident Doctors from Embarking on Strike Planned for January 12
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja has issued an order restraining the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its members from embarking on the strike they planned to commence on January 12.
Reacting to the court order obtained by the Federal government, NARD said it would not be intimidated.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim issued the order on Friday while ruling on a motion ex parte filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in a suit marked: NICN/ABJ/06/2026.
Justice Subilim gave the ruling after listening to the Director of Civil Litigation (Federal Ministry of Justice), Mrs Maimuna Lami Shiru, who led a team of lawyers from the ministry, moved the motion ex parte.
Listed as respondents to the motion and defendants to the substantive suit are NARD, its National President, Dr Mohammad Usman Suleman, and the association’s Secretary General, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim.
Justice Subilim, in a copy of the “enrollment order” seen on Friday, said after painstakingly listening to the submission of the lawyer to the claimants and going through the documents submitted and the rules of the court relied on, he was satisfied that the ex parte motion was meritorious and should be granted.
The judge added that he was “satisfied that this is a proper case for the grant of an interim injunction.”
He proceeded to issue an interim order of injunction “restraining the defendants respondents, their members, servants, agents, privies, and or any other person acting on their behalf or at their directives from calling, directing, organising, participating in or embarking upon any form of industrial action, including but not limited to strikes, work stoppages, go-slows, picketing or any other form of industrial protest or disruption.”
The judge also restrained NARD, its National President and Secretary General, from “taking steps preparatory to or in furtherance of any industrial action, from the 12th January, 2026, until the hearing and determination of the motion on notice” filed by the claimants.
Justice Subilim held that the orders made “shall remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice fixed for the 21st of January, 2026.”
He ordered the claimants/applicants (FRN and the AGF) to serve the defendants with the orders made, “within seven days of the date hereof.”
The judge added that “the defendants/respondents (NARD, Suleman and Ibrahim) shall be at liberty to apply to discharge or vary this order within seven days after services of this order.”
The NARD had earlier this month announced plans to resume its previously suspended “total, indefinite and comprehensive strike with effect from January 12.” The group claimed that its decision was informed by the Federal Government’s alleged failure to fully implement agreed resolutions.
It said the decision to resume its strike was taken at an emergency virtual meeting of the association’s National Executive Council (E-NEC) held on January 2.
A statement by the group said its NEC directed all centre presidents across the association’s 91 accredited centres to convene congress meetings and thereafter address the media, to saturate public spaces with information on the planned industrial action within the next seven days.
The association said it would resume the strike alongside a series of coordinated protests, beginning with centre-based demonstrations scheduled to hold from January 12 to January 16.
It added that this would be followed by regional protests to be led by caucus leaders, while a nationwide protest would subsequently be organised by the NARD NOC.
NARD stated that the suspension of the renewed strike would only be considered after the full implementation of what it described as its minimum demands.
These include the reinstatement of the five resident doctors disengaged from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Kogi State, the payment of outstanding promotion and salary arrears, among others.
The association of the resident doctors said it would not be intimidated by the court injunction restraining industrial action, insisting that its planned nationwide strike remains on course, unless the Federal Government demonstrates genuine and practical steps toward meeting the doctors’ demands
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