Court stops Jan 12 strike by Resident Doctors

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has stopped the January 12 planned strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its members.

Justice Emmanuel Subilim in his ruling on a motion ex-parte that was filed by the Federal government, specifically restrained the association and it’s members from embarking on the strike.

The said motion in suit marked NICN/ABJ/06/2026, has the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as parties.

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.

Others 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.

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja, has announced its support for the nationwide strike action called by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), scheduled to begin on Monday, January 12, 2026.

In a statement issued by Dr. Awuzie Chinemezu Donald, President; Dr. Okedinachi Enweani, Secretary and Dr. Maryam Ahmed Almustapha, PRO, made available to our correspondent on Thursday, the executive committee of the association expressed frustration over the “Federal Government’s failure to honour agreements reached with NARD”, citing persistent breaches of agreements, worsening welfare conditions and systemic neglect “that have affected morale and healthcare delivery”.

It added the strike tagged TICS (Total Indefinite Comprehensive Strike) 2.0, is driven by nine key demands, including the reinstatement of five doctors dismissed from the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, implementation of outstanding promotion and payment of salary arrears, implementation of professional allowance with all accrued arrears captured in the 2026 national budget.

Others are: clarification by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Office of the Head of Service on skipping and entry-level issues, reintroduction of the specialist allowances, resolving the house officers’ salary delays etc.

The healthcare system cannot function optimally when its workforce is consistently disrespected, overworked and subjected to broken agreements,” the committee stated.

The FMC doctors emphasised the association’s commitment to professional dignity and fair labour practices, urging the government to address the outstanding issues