The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has issued an interim injunction restraining the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) from embarking on any form of industrial action, including strikes, go-slows, picketing, or any preparatory protest activities.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice E.D. Subilim ordered that the injunction take effect from Monday, January 12, 2026, and remain in force pending the hearing of the substantive motion scheduled for January 21.
The suit was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Federal Government against NARD, its president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, and Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim.
The court order comes amid rising tension in the health sector following NARD’s announcement of a nationwide strike over the Federal Government’s alleged failure to fulfil key welfare and training commitments.
In the days leading up to the injunction, resident doctors at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, declared full support for the planned strike.
According to the UDUTH chapter, unresolved issues include the non-reinstatement of five disengaged resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Lokoja, unpaid promotion and salary arrears, and the incomplete implementation of the Professional Allowance Table. Other grievances cited include withheld specialist allowances, delayed house officers’ salaries, postgraduate training certification delays, and deteriorating hospital infrastructure.
Despite the court order, NARD had earlier insisted that there was no going back on the industrial action.
Speaking in Abuja, NARD President Dr Mohammad Suleiman said the planned withdrawal of services from midnight on Monday was driven by unmet commitments and worsening working conditions, not political considerations.
“The withdrawal of services is in response to unmet commitments, shifting government positions and worsening working conditions for resident doctors, not partisan considerations,” he said.
Suleiman maintained that none of the demands contained in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Government on November 27, 2025, had been implemented.
“Every issue is either at the same point where it was when we signed the MoU or we have even gone backwards,” he said, describing claims by the Ministry of Health that some concerns had been resolved as misleading.
He further challenged the government to explain where the ₦90 billion reportedly allocated in the 2026 budget for health workers’ professional allowances had been provided.
NARD also demanded the immediate reinstatement of the five disengaged resident doctors at FTH Lokoja with full back pay, rejecting any plan to redeploy them to other institutions.
Additional grievances include delayed promotion arrears across 62 tertiary institutions, non-recognition of specialist certificates, and outstanding salary and allowance payments affecting nearly 40 per cent of resident doctors nationwide.
While the association said it remains open to dialogue and has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for decisive intervention, it warned that unless concrete steps are taken, the planned industrial action could still proceed, potentially disrupting healthcare services across the country.
Describing the situation as “difficult but unavoidable,” Dr Mujitaba Umar, President of the UDUTH chapter, urged swift government action. The chapter’s General Secretary, Dr Muhammad Abdulrahman Hassan, also appealed to the Federal Government to act urgently “in the interest of the Nigerian populace and the healthcare system.”
