The National Industrial Court on Tuesday stopped the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress from embarking on their planned strike over the increase in fuel price by the federal Government.
The labour unions had threatened to commence a nationwide strike on Wednesday.
Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the restraining order after the Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, argued an ex parte application in which the prayer for the order was contained.
Justice Adejumo ruled, “The defendants are hereby restrained from carrying out the threat contained in their communique issued on May 14, 2016 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed on May 16.
“It is the order of this court that status quo be maintained as at May 17.”
The order being an interim one will last for seven days, although it is subject to renewal.
The judge also ordered that the processes in the case be served on the respondents within 24 hours and that proof of service be filed in the court.
“It is the order of this court that none of the parties shall engage in any act, conduct, overtly, covertly on this matter pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Justice Adejumo added.
The judge transferred the hearing of the substantive case to another judge of the court on the grounds that he would be engaged at the National Judicial Council when the matter would be deemed for hearing.
The judge said although he would preferred that the dispute be resolved amicably, he was constrained to issue the ex parte order because the respondents were not yet before him.
He also said that he granted the order to make sure that people were not subjected to avoidable hardship.
He said ,”I decided to take this case this morning because it is on an issue that will affect everybody. I don’t want people to be subjected to hardship. There will be scarcity of foods, people may die, students will engage in all sorts of activities. This is why I have to grant this order.”
Malami, while moving the ex parte application, said it was in the national interest to stop NLC from shutting down the nation over last week’s increase in price of fuel.
He cited Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to justify his application to stop the strike. PUNCH
