An Abuja courtroom has become the latest battleground in the growing standoff between the Federal Government and resident doctors, after the National Industrial Court barred the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) from proceeding with its planned nationwide strike.
In an interim ruling, Justice E.D. Subilim restrained NARD and its officials from embarking on any form of industrial action — including strikes, protests or go-slows — from Monday, January 12, 2026. The order will remain in force until January 21, when the court is expected to hear the substantive motion filed by the Attorney General of the Federation on behalf of the Federal Government.
The decision comes at a tense moment. Just days earlier, resident doctors at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, had publicly thrown their weight behind the strike, describing it as a last resort after months of unfulfilled promises and worsening working conditions.
For many doctors, the grievances are deeply personal. They include the continued disengagement of five resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; unpaid promotion and salary arrears; and the partial implementation of the Professional Allowance Table. Others point to withheld specialist allowances, delayed salaries for house officers, prolonged delays in postgraduate training certification, and hospital facilities they say are steadily falling apart.
Despite the court order, NARD has remained defiant. Speaking in Abuja, the association’s president, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, said the planned withdrawal of services is not about politics but survival.
“This is about unmet commitments, shifting government positions and worsening working conditions,” he said, insisting that none of the terms in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the government on November 27, 2025, have been honoured.
According to him, the situation has either stagnated or deteriorated since the agreement was reached. He also questioned government claims that funds had been released, challenging authorities to show where the N90 billion reportedly earmarked in the 2026 budget for health workers’ professional allowances has gone.
At the heart of the anger is the fate of the five disengaged doctors in Lokoja. NARD is demanding their immediate reinstatement with full back pay, rejecting proposals to redeploy them to other hospitals. The association also says delayed promotion arrears across 62 tertiary institutions and the non-recognition of specialist certificates have left nearly 40 per cent of resident doctors owed months of salaries and allowances.
While NARD says it remains open to dialogue and has appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for urgent intervention, the mood among doctors is one of frustration and fatigue. At UDUTH, chapter president Dr Mujitaba Umar described the situation as “difficult but unavoidable,” while the chapter’s general secretary, Dr Muhammad Abdulrahman Hassan, warned that swift government action is needed “in the interest of Nigerians and the healthcare system.”
As the court order takes effect, patients across the country are left anxiously watching, caught between legal battles, broken promises, and a healthcare system once again on the brink.
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