BEVERLY HILLS, April 06, (THEWILL) – The strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Tuesday paralysed judicial activities across the country.
The strike is in compliance with the directive of the national secretariat of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
THEWILL correspondents who monitored courts’ activities in some state capitals reports that offices and court halls were under lock and key.
In Lagos State, as early as 7.00 am, protesting judiciary workers locked the gates of all the courthouses in the five judicial divisions in the State as judges, magistrates and litigants were shut out of the courts
They also sealed some of the offices and pasted strike notices on their entrances.
In Ondo State, many judiciary staff that reported for duty at various courts were chased out and the premises placed under lock and key.
Ondo Chairman of JUSUN, Comrade Afolabi Olusola, who led the monitoring team, said the compliance in the state was impressive.
He said he would ensure all courts in the state are locked down until the strike is called off
In Kwara, activities were paralysed at law courts in Ilorin, the state capital.
At the Ilorin high court premises, the gates were under lock and key as at 9a.m
Litigants, lawyers and police personnel were seen outside the court premises in groups discussing the strike.
Mostly affected were some persons expected to have their bail issues determined and processed.
Reacting to the development, a legal practitioner, Barrister Afolabi Gambari, described the strike by the union as a waste of time and misplaced priority.
The issue of financial autonomy for the judiciary is the bone of contention, according to the state Chairman of the union, Comrade Ibrahim Sambo.
He said the nationwide strike was due to “the failure of state governors to carry out Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari granting financial autonomy to the judiciary arm of government.”
Sambo lamented that contrary to what obtains in the executive and legislative arms of government in respect of financial autonomy, the judiciary had not been enjoying that same autonomy.
He hoped that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State would comply with the directive of the president to ensure financial autonomy for the judiciary.
In compliance with the directive by the national body of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), the Osun State chapter has also joined the ongoing strike action to press home their demands.
Most judiciary staff did not report to work as most court premises were empty, especially the Osun High Court Complex, Oke-Fia.
THEWILL recalls that the national leadership of JUSUN had in a circular dated 1st of April, 2021 ordered a closure of all courts beginning from Tuesday, 6th April.
The union had at its national executive meeting in Abuja on March 13, 2021, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government.
In a circular dated April 1, 2021, the union had told its members to shut down courts across the country from Tuesday, April 6.
The circular issued by the General Secretary of JUSUN, Isaiah Adetola, partly read, “Therefore, as a result of the public holiday on April 5, 2021, the strike action has been postponed to Tuesday, April 6, 2021. You are directed to shut down courts/departments in your states until further notice from the National Secretariat of JUSUN in Abuja.”
President Buhari had on May 22, 2020, signed into law an Executive Order granting financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary across the 36 states of the federation.
The Executive Order No. 10 of 2020, made it mandatory for all states to include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets.
The order also mandates the accountant-general of the federation to deduct from source amount due to the state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state, for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.
