FCT Indigenous Group Drags Authorities to Court Over Protracted Strike

The Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organization (AOIYEO) has taken legal action against the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the six area council chairmen over the prolonged industrial action that has crippled primary education and healthcare services in the nation’s capital.

In a suit filed at the FCT High Court (CV/2484/25) on Tuesday, the indigenous rights group contends that the three-month strike by teachers, health workers, and council staff constitutes a violation of fundamental constitutional rights. The defendants include the chairmen of Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

“The ongoing shutdown has denied pupils access to education and deprived residents of essential healthcare services,” AOIYEO stated, arguing this breaches constitutional guarantees to life, dignity, education, and health.

The group seeks judicial declarations that the education blackout violates children’s rights under Sections 33, 34, and 42 of the 1999 Constitution; residents’ health rights under Article 16 of the African Charter and Section 33 of the Constitution have been compromised and FCT children face discriminatory exclusion from educational services available elsewhere in Nigeria.

The lawsuit frames the councils’ inaction as “gross dereliction of constitutional duties” that contravenes multiple provisions of both domestic and international human rights instruments.

AOIYEO demands court orders compelling immediate resumption of educational services across all six area councils and restoration of functional healthcare delivery in public facilities.

The industrial action, now in its 14th week, stems from unpaid salary arrears and benefits owed to primary school teachers, healthcare workers, and council staff. The legal move escalates pressure on authorities as the education and healthcare crisis in the territory deepens.

Court documents seen by Abuja Metro reveal the group’s argument that the strike has created “a generation of educationally disadvantaged children” while leaving vulnerable residents without medical care. The case represents the first major legal challenge to the protracted labor dispute that has left FCT’s primary schools shuttered and health centers non-functional since April.

The FCTA and council chairmen are yet to formally respond to the lawsuit, even as striking workers maintain their position that they will not resume until all outstanding entitlements are paid.