A staff member of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has raised an alarming cry for help, decrying the court’s management over persistent poor working conditions, hazardous work environments, and glaring salary disparities. In a bold and emotionally charged statement, the worker accused the institution—ironically mandated to defend labour rights—of grossly neglecting the welfare of its own employees.
The staff member, identified as Comrade E. K. O., described the current situation as “a crisis of hypocrisy,” where the very court tasked with enforcing workplace justice is allegedly complicit in the oppression of its workforce. In a statement titled “A Cry for Justice: The Plight of Staff at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria,” the worker passionately appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the National Assembly for swift and decisive intervention.
According to the staff member, while other federal courts have benefited from the recent federal salary adjustment with generous increments and partial payments of outstanding arrears, NICN staff remain sidelined. Their pay raises were reportedly meager, arbitrary, and without justification, deepening a sense of betrayal and abandonment.
> “The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, constitutionally empowered to adjudicate on matters of labour, welfare, and workers’ rights, now stands accused of violating the very principles it was created to uphold,” the statement reads. “Ironically, the court entrusted with protecting Nigerian workers is allegedly subjecting its own staff to inhumane working conditions, poor welfare, and systemic neglect.”
In a particularly chilling revelation, the worker claimed that staff are “dying weekly”—a consequence of poor healthcare access, delayed entitlements, and a lack of adequate support systems. He described the environment as “toxic,” citing excessive taxation, minimal welfare incentives, and an appalling disregard for the training and retraining of personnel.
The statement continued:
> “In the recent federal salary adjustment, staff of other courts received significant increments. However, NICN employees were given far less—a disparity that remains unexplained and unresolved. While other federal courts have begun disbursing outstanding arrears, NICN staff continue to wait in vain.”
The situation has provoked national concern, as legal observers and labour rights advocates question how an institution created to champion justice for workers can itself become a bastion of injustice.
> “We are not asking for privileges—we are demanding fairness, equity, and the right to live and work with dignity,” Comrade E. K. O. emphasized. “The silence is deafening, and the suffering is real.”
As calls intensify for a full-scale investigation into the allegations, civil society groups and union leaders are urging the federal government to not only probe the NICN management but also to immediately harmonize salaries and welfare packages across all judicial arms to prevent further demoralization of workers.
With the credibility of the court now under scrutiny, stakeholders say it is imperative for leadership at the highest levels to act—before the very institution that upholds labour justice collapses under the weight of its own contradictions.
PIONEER NEWS 