The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, in a statement that was signed by his Special Assistant, Communication & Publicity, Mr. Kamarudeen Ogundele, warned that such strike action by the labour unions would be “tantamount to contempt of court.”
The AGF maintained that FG had since served both the NLC and the TUC with copies of a restraining order from the National Industrial Court, which he said barred them from going ahead with the scheduled strike action.
We wish to remind the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress that there is a subsisting court order stopping the unions and their affiliates from embarking on the strike.
“The interim order was granted on November 10 by the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Justice B. B. Kanyip.
“The unions have been served the court order and, therefore, must surrender themselves to the authority of the court which is already seized with the facts of the case.
“Any action taken contrary to the order will be tantamount to contempt of court.
“We use this medium to urge the unions to respect the court order and adhere to the principle of the rule of law. There is no need to resort to self-help.
“We urge workers to report for duties and not to entertain any fear as their safety is guaranteed and will be protected within the ambit of law,” the statement further read.
The labour unions had directed workers across the country to begin an indefinite strike action from midnight, to protest the attack and manhandling of the President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, in Owerri, Imo State, on November 1, as well as other outstanding labour-related issues.
