By Nworisa Michael
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its members from embarking on a planned nationwide strike scheduled to commence on January 12, 2026.
The interim injunction was granted on Friday, January 9, 2026, by Justice Emmanuel D. Subilim while ruling on a motion ex parte filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Attorney General of the Federation.
The court barred NARD, its leadership and members from organising, directing, participating in or engaging in any form of industrial action, including strikes, work stoppages, protests, go-slows or any preparatory actions, pending the determination of a substantive motion in the suit. The court fixed January 21, 2026, for the hearing of the motion on notice.
The ruling followed submissions by the Director of Civil Litigation at the Federal Ministry of Justice, who led a team of government lawyers in urging the court to intervene in order to avert a disruption of healthcare services across the country.
The planned strike, tagged “Total, Indefinite and Complete Strike (TICS 2.0): No Implementation, No Going Back,” was announced by NARD on January 3, 2026, after an Emergency National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held on January 2.
According to the association, the decision to resume industrial action was triggered by the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with resident doctors in November 2025.
NARD had suspended an earlier indefinite strike on November 29, 2025, after 29 days of nationwide industrial action, following government assurances that its demands would be addressed within four weeks.
The demands include the reinstatement of five resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of outstanding salary and promotion arrears; full implementation of the agreed professional allowance structure with arrears reflected in the 2026 budget; resolution of house officers’ salary delays; clarification of entry-level and skipping issues; reintroduction of specialist allowances; and the conclusion of the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement process.
Ahead of the planned strike, NARD had directed its 91 accredited training centres nationwide to hold congress meetings, address the media and embark on centre-based protests between January 12 and January 16, 2026.
However, with the court’s interim order now in force, NARD has been restrained from proceeding with the strike or any related activities, while the association retains the right to apply for the variation or discharge of the order within seven days of service.
As of the time of filing this report, NARD’s national leadership had yet to issue an official response to the court’s decision.