The National Industrial Court in Abuja has issued an interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association from embarking on strike action or compelling other drivers to join.
Justice E.D. Subilim, ruling on Wednesday, barred the unions from blocking roads, disrupting, or shutting down operations at Dangote Refinery, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, and MRS Oil and Gas Company Ltd. The interim order, granted following an ex parte motion by Dangote Refinery’s counsel, George Ibrahim (SAN), will remain in force for seven days pending the hearing of a motion on notice.
The judge held that failing to grant the orders could cause irreparable damage to the refinery. He directed that the unions be served with the motion on notice within seven days and ordered the case file to be transferred to the President of the Industrial Court for reassignment, since his vacation jurisdiction ends on September 23.
Counsel for Dangote Refinery argued that the unions’ actions violated Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association, and Section 12(4) of the Trade Union Act. He asked the court to compel the drivers to continue petroleum trucking services to the refinery and the public, stressing that their actions threatened national energy stability.
In an affidavit, Ahmed Hashem, Group General Manager for Government and Strategic Relations at the refinery, pledged to pay damages if it was later determined that the injunction was wrongly granted.
Justice Subilim ruled that a serious issue was at stake, the balance of convenience favored the refinery, and irreparable harm could result without the restraining orders. He therefore ordered both unions to maintain petroleum trucking services and avoid any strike that could obstruct refinery operations.
Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery, in a weekend statement, reaffirmed its respect for workers’ rights to unionise under the principle of voluntarism, stressing it is not opposed to unionism but will also protect workers who choose not to join unions.
NUPENG, however, alleged that after suspending its nationwide strike, Dangote drivers were forced to resume loading operations and remove union stickers from trucks, in breach of earlier agreements reached with federal ministers and security officials. The union accused refinery officials of intimidation tactics and placed members on red alert while calling for government and civil society intervention.
Commissioned in 2023, the Dangote Refinery is Africa’s largest oil processing facility. It is expected to cut Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products but has faced mounting labour disputes over union rights and management practices.
