Nigerian strike pleas ruled out

Many Nigerians cannot afford to go on strike

A Nigerian judge has refused to hear cases brought by both the government and the unions over the legality of a general strike, which began on Monday.

The government wanted the courts to declare the work stoppage illegal, a move opposed by the unions.

The judge said that all legal action should be taken to the appeal court.

The strike, over fuel price rises, has left most shops and offices closed but has not affected oil production in Africa's biggest exporter.

The unions want 25% price rises reversed but the only talks being held are on cushioning the impact.

Justice delayed

Judge Roseline Ukeje last month ruled that the main umbrella union body, the Nigeria Labour Congress, could only strike over working conditions.

"Labour can proceed to the court of appeal to challenge my earlier judgment," she said on Wednesday, refusing to hear any new cases on the issue.

Nigeria tackles fuel subsidies In pictures: Fuel strike

The BBC's Anna Borzello in the largest city, Lagos, says that the government case was originally filed last Friday but was only heard on Wednesday because of the strike.

Many traders have returned to work but schools and hospitals remain closed.

Our correspondent says many of the poorest Nigerians support the idea of a strike, but cannot afford not to work.

But the unions show no sign of backing down and say they will continue striking beyond the scheduled end on Thursday if "police arrests and harassment" continue.

A teenage boy was shot dead by police in the northern city of Kaduna on Monday, the NLC says.

Pipeline fire

The strike and a pipeline fire which is disrupting production has helped push the worldwide price of oil to record highs.

The pipeline which has broken and is on fire is carrying crude oil across the Niger Delta.

A spokesman for the Shell company - which runs the Trans-Niger pipeline - said the incident would temporarily disrupt oil production.

He said that he expected production to be down by 20,000 barrels for a few days because the oil would have to be transferred to a narrower pipeline while repairs were carried out.

Shell produces 2.25m barrels a day in Nigeria.

The village where the fire broke out is in the homeland of the Ogoni people, who have a long-running dispute with Shell.

Poverty

The strike was called by the NLC, to protest against big increases in the price of petrol since fuel subsidies were removed last year.

Despite Nigeria's oil wealth, most of the population lives in poverty and many see cheap fuel as the only benefit they receive.

Mr Oshiomhole was detained over the weekend

In a bid to take the steam out of the strike, President Olusegun Obasanjo set up a task force to look at the effects of the fuel price rises, which included NLC leader Adams Oshiomhole.

Mr Oshiomhole - who leads the 29-union umbrella body - has led two widely observed general strikes in the last 18 months over fuel price increases.

He was detained by state security agents two days before the strike began, before being released.

This is the third general strike over fuel prices in 18 months.

After the last one in June, Mr Obasanjo introduced legislation, which reduce the powers of the NLC and make it more difficult for unions to go on strike.