The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its members from proceeding with the nationwide strike earlier scheduled to begin on January 12, 2026.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim granted the interim order on Friday after hearing an ex parte motion filed by the Federal Government and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The court barred the association, its leadership and members from organising, directing, participating in or taking steps towards any form of industrial action, including strikes, protests, picketing, go-slows, and work stoppages.
The injunction will remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion, which the court has fixed for January 21, 2026.
The legal intervention follows NARD’s recent announcement that it would resume its total, indefinite and complete strike, tagged TICS 2.0, in protest against what it described as the Federal Government’s continued failure to implement agreements reached in November 2025.
The decision to return to industrial action was taken at an Emergency National Executive Council meeting held on January 2 and communicated to members nationwide.
In a statement signed by its president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, the association accused the government of ignoring multiple deadlines for fulfilling the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed after the suspension of its last strike.
According to the resident doctors, the planned action was unavoidable, stressing that several commitments made by the authorities remained unfulfilled despite repeated engagements.
As part of its preparations, NARD had directed its 91 centres across the country to hold congress meetings and brief the media, while also announcing centre-based protests from January 12 to 16, followed by regional and national demonstrations.
The association listed several unresolved issues, including the reinstatement of five doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of promotion and salary arrears; full implementation of the professional allowance structure; reintroduction of specialist allowances; and resolution of skipping and entry-level placement concerns.
Other demands include the settlement of outstanding house officers’ salaries, issuance of pay advisories, re-categorisation and certification after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, commencement of locum and work-hour regulation committees, and resumption of the collective bargaining agreement process.
NARD had suspended its previous indefinite strike on November 29, 2025, after 29 days of industrial action, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Government. At the time, the government committed to meeting the doctors’ demands within four weeks.
However, the association later accused the authorities of failing to honour the agreement, stating that many of the promises were either partially implemented or completely ignored.
The planned resumption of the strike sparked concern among patients, hospital managers and health stakeholders, who warned that another shutdown of public hospitals could worsen the already fragile healthcare system and put lives at risk.
