Lawyers, Litigants Groan As JUSUN Strike Paralyses Court Activities

Lawyers, Litigants Groan As JUSUN Strike Paralyses Court Activities

The indefinite strike embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Monday paralysed activities in all the courts' in Lagos state.

A visit by our correspondent to most of the courts in the state shows that apart from disruption of legal business, the courts were under lock and key.

According to JUSUN the on going action is intended to compel the federal and states governments to implement the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on January 14, 2014, granting financial autonomy to the third arm of government.

The Court presided by Justice Adeniyi Ademola had restrained the federal government and the 36 state governors, from holding on to funds meant for the judiciary.

Justice Ademola had also held that funds meant for the judiciary should instead, be disbursed directly to the heads of court and not to the executive arm of government.

Though the gate of the Federal High Court in Lagos was not locked, workers were, however, not at their duty posts.

The Deputy Chief Registrar of the FHC, Bello Okandeji, urged the few workers around to return to their home peacefully, to avoid any form of chaos.

At the Lagos State High Court sitting at Igbosere and Tafa Balewa Square (TBS), the entrance to the premises were locked with padlock and a bold inscription 'Court on strike' was hanged on the gates.

The story was not different at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, the National Industrial Court, and all the Magistrate Courts in the state.

In a telephone interview with Journalists, the National Deputy President of JUSUN, Comrade Samuel Adesanya, said that by the union's record, the strike commenced on January 2, irrespective of the public holidays.

He said that the indefinite action commenced following a communique issued to that effect by the national executive of the union last year.

According to Adesanya, the action affects all courts in the country, and would only be resolved if the union's demands were met.

Also speaking on the issue, an executive of the Lagos State branch of JUSUN, Adelenu Tajudeen, said that the strike was simply in a bid to press home their demands, adding that the court gates would remain under lock till further notice.

Some of the litigants and lawyers who spoke to journalists expressed displeasure on the development  and lamented the consequences on the administration of justice in the country.

They maintained that the strike would cause more hardship to those in prison and in police cells and that the problem of prison congestion across the country will be made worse.