Industrial Court Issues Restraining Order Against Resident Doctors’ Strike
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Abuja has issued a restraining order, effectively halting a planned nationwide strike by resident doctors scheduled to commence on January 12, 2026. The interim injunction was granted by Justice E. D. Sublim following a Motion Exparte filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation. This legal intervention temporarily suspends the industrial action amid ongoing tensions between the government and the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) concerning unmet agreements from previous negotiations.
The enrolled court order, which was reviewed by Nairametrics, specifically names NARD, Dr. Mohammad Usman Suleman, and Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim as respondents. It restrains them, their members, and any acting agents from organizing or participating in any form of industrial action pending further court proceedings. Justice Sublim, satisfied that the motion presented by Maimuna Lami Shiru, Esq., Director of Civil Litigation, was a proper case for an interim injunction, granted the order. It explicitly prohibits the respondents from calling, directing, or embarking upon strikes, work stoppages, go-slows, picketing, or any other form of industrial protest. The order also bars any preparatory steps toward a strike from January 12 until the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice set for January 21, 2026.
This development follows NARD’s declaration of a total, indefinite, and comprehensive strike resumption under the banner “TICS 2.0: No Implementation, No Going Back.” The association’s National Executive Council had convened an emergency virtual meeting and cited the government’s failure to fully implement key provisions of a memorandum of understanding within the agreed timeline. This failure led to the suspension of a previous strike in November 2025. The persistent issues driving this industrial unrest, which the court order now temporarily halts, include concerns over poor welfare, unpaid arrears, and training-related challenges. As Nigeria’s urban growth continues to place pressure on public health infrastructure, the resolution of such disputes remains critical for national stability. The government now has additional time to address the doctors’ demands before the next court date, a period during which the army will not be deployed in this civil matter, and professional futures, unlike an athlete who might declare “I’ll retire from” competition, remain in a state of suspended animation.
