JUSUN: Nigerian courts locked as Judiciary Workers begin strike

Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) members have shut down the Supreme Court in Abuja, in line with their threat to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike to press for financial autonomy for the judicial arm of government.

VAM News learnt that the development came as a defiance to the last minute appeal by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to the workers to shelve the industrial action, which it said was ill-timed considering the COVID-19 constraints the Nigerian courts had been battling with since last year.

It was gathered that the entrance of the apex court was shut as at 7.10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 6, leaving workers who intended to resume duties after the Easter holiday stranded.

The report noted that the workers of other two key judiciary institutions – the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) – which share the same premises with the Supreme Court are also affected.

JUSUN had in April 1, 2021, in a circular directed all its states and zonal heads to comply with the strike as from Tuesday, April 6. The circular signed by the union’s general secretary, I. M. Adetola, stated that the strike was necessitated by the failure of the federal and state governments to implement a judgement of the Federal High Court, which granted financial autonomy to the judicial arm of government.

The union stated that it had at its last National Executive meeting on March 13, 2021, in Abuja, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government to implement the financial autonomy of the judiciary with a threat that “failure of which JUSUN will have no other option but to resume the suspended national strike action."

The Nation also reports that JUSUN members have evicted court staff from the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The unionists, according to the report, arrived at the court premises before 9 am and directed their colleagues in courtrooms and offices to comply with the industrial action. They sealed some of the offices and pasted notices indicating the commencement of the court shutdown.