Nigeria: Resident Doctors Not Backing Down from Strike, Set to Appeal Court Ruling

Resident doctors in Nigeria have rejected an Industrial Court order, directing the umbrella body – National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to suspend its strike with immediate effect.

Instead, the association in a communique on Friday said its lawyers will appeal the ruling and file a stay of application.

“It is my firm belief that if the court does not intervene at this stage, there is no amount of money that can compensate for the lives of Nigerians who would lose their lives if the members of the defendants continue with their strike,” Justice Bashir Alkali had ruled.

In its reaction NARD accused the court of denying them a fair hearing.

“As we are all aware, especially those that were present in court today (Friday), the NIC has given a ruling on the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal Government,” the communique jointly signed by Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, its president, and Jerry Isogun, its secretary-general read.

“We are not satisfied with the ruling. After consultations with our lawyers, we have instructed our lawyers to appeal the ruling and file an application for stay of execution.

“Also, our lawyers drew the attention of the court to our application for stay of execution of the ex parte order and that the court should take that application first. The court insisted that the government application would be taken first.

“On 15/9/21, the court ordered all parties to resume negotiations. The government refused to resume negotiations in line with the order of 23/8/21. Our lawyers reported this development to the court. We have demonstrated good faith and would continue to do so.”

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