Cries of injustice resonated in the judiciary across the country earlier in the week with the commencement of strike action by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). The strike action which has palalysed activities in almost all the courts in the country, took a toll on the judiciary.

Lawyers and litigants who thought they could take advantage of the usual Monday morning bustle to file their applications and motions were disappointed to see the gates to some courts barricaded by members of the striking workers seeking enhanced conditions of service. In places where courts sat, the monitoring team of JUSUN who were bent on ensuring that the stay-at-home order was complied with,  forced everybody out of the court premises. Lawyers, some with their aides carrying their bags of law books, were politely turned away.

On the first day the strike action started, Monday, a lot of trials were affected. For instance, in Enugu , the strike affected the hearing of the case of money laundering and other corruption charges brought against former governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion by the EFCC.  Igbinedion and his team of lawyers had arrived  the Federal High Court premises, but were refused entrance into the compound.  His lawyers sought audience with the Deputy Registrar of the Court, Mr. Bello Okandeji, who pleaded with the gatemen to allow Igbinedion and other members of his team into the court.  

But Okandeji informed the former governor that the court would not entertain the case because of the strike. At the Federal Capital territory, Abuja, the Federal High Court,  FCT High Court and Court of Appeal  were barricaded.  For example, the entrance to the Federal High Court was blocked as no persons, including staff, were allowed in. Inscriptions like “The third arm of government is neglected, why?”; “Delay defeats demands” were placed at the court’s entrance. 

In Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country,  as early as 8: 45a.m the leadership of JUSUN led by its National Publicity Secretary, Marwan Adamu who came from Kano State to monitor the industrial action and some state officials stormed the Ikeja High Court premises and locked all entrances to the court, stalling ongoing trial of Chief Olabode George and five others at a Lagos High Court Ikeja division, which could not proceed because of the strike.

At the Lagos High Court in Igbosere, all the courts were locked except that of the Administrative Judge, occupied  by Justice Inumidun Akande, Justice Benedicta Shitta_Bey, Justice Opeyemi Oke and Justice Olusola Williams. Also at the Commercial Courts located within Tafawa Balewa Square, the two gates leading to the court premises were locked. At the Magistrate’s Courts section, all the gates leading to courts were put under lock and key, making the whole area deserted and devoid of the usual activities.

But activities at the Federal High Court in Lagos continued until 3pm when the workers were asked to go home by the union. This development made it possible for Justice Ahmed Mohammed to hear the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s case against former Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Rasheed Ladoja.

In Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the gates to the High Court were firmly locked, so was in Ado-Ekiti and other parts of the country where members of the union barricaded the gates leading to the judiciary complex.  The current strike is the second by judicial workers in eight months, the fifth in four years. The first this year was on February 4, but it was shelved following the intervention of Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN) Justice Idris Kutigi.  Before Justice Kutigi’s intervention, the high point of the industrial action was the embarrassment suffered by lawyers and justices sitting on the panel then deciding the presidential election petition. 

The association had entered into negotiation with the federal government, which culminated in the inauguration of a committee to look at their grievances. But no sooner was the strike action called-off did government reneging on all the recommendations made by the committee.But following its national executive council meeting held in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State on November 8, 2008, JUSUN through Adamu gave  the government a three-week ultimatum to address the areas of complaints before the end of the month otherwise they will proceed on an definite strike action. He added that the committee that was set up had since submitted its report, but nothing had been done.

According to him, the national executive reviewed state of affairs within the judiciary nationwide, particularly welfare of non_judicial officers within the system and concluded that, there is no indication that the judicial workers have been able to get the Chief Justice of Nigeria to write the State Governors to comply with issues concerning their welfare.

“There is as at today no concrete evidence to show that the issues raised by JUSUN  concerning welfare of non-judicial officers, particularly the non-lawyers, are being addressed by the leadership of the judiciary at various levels,” he said

The union’s scribe explained that notices of the strike were served to the Minister of Labour and Productive saying that the Minister choose to ignore same. He stated that government was unwilling to implement the agreed unified salary schemes for all judiciary staff irrespective of whether in State or Federal Service.  

Adamu, who monitored the strike in Lagos, told newsmen that the action would last until government decides to call them back to the negotiating table.   “We decided to embark on this industrial action because we want the government to sign the agreed enhanced salaries of judicial workers of this great country.  You could remember that in February, we embarked on an indefinite strike to press home our demand for a harmonised salary for all the judicial workers in the country and we were persuaded to suspend the strike by the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and other heads of court in the various states. A committee was set up to work out an agreement five months ago but it is yet to be signed by relevant authorities. All entreaties made to the authorities were not taken seriously by the government.”  

On his part, JUSUN National president, Usamatu Aminu, said for months after both parties resolved to address areas of mutual conflicts through the committee established by Federal Judicial Service Commission, nothing had been forthcoming from the government, adding since the language the Federal Government understands was strike, members would use it to the best of their ability.

According to him, members of JUSUN would not compromise the Judicial Service Structure (JSS), which was one of its outstanding demands, adding that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union met on November 7 and November 8 in Brinin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, where it deliberated on the next line of action concerning their demands that were yet to be met by the Federal Government. “We have such a disturbing silence from the government that we don’t know our fate; we don’t know where we are and now that we are pushed to the wall, we don’t know what to tell our people,” he said. A court staff who spoke to Vanguard expressed surprised over the injustices in the judicial sector.

He claimed that the salaries of judges had been increased thrice since the beginning of their own agitation for salary increment. According to him, while an average graduate judiciary worker earns less than N20,000 per month, a judge earns between N700,000 and N800,000 per month.

“It is surprising that there are injustices in the judicial sector. Imagine a situation where an average graduate judiciary worker earns less than N20,000 per month while a judge earns between N700,000 and N800,000 per month. While we were agitating for the salary increase and improvement in welfare, judges salaries have been increased thrice, twice in 2008 while nothing has been done about our case,” he said. Human rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, said the strike ought to have been avoided if the authorities had ample time to negotiate with the workers, adding that government should take the blame for the paralysis which the administration of justice has suffered from the strike.

“It is so painful each time government tries to lecture the workers about true federalism and why better conditions at the federal level cannot apply to workers at the state and local government level. The political elite find it convenient not to extend the argument to governors and other political office holders who draw fat cheques on the basis of the revenue, mobilisation and fiscal commission’s ‘federalised’ remuneration.

“It is not right to make workers think that they are inferior to the politicians who as a matter of fact contribute next to nothing to the economic well being of the nation, but are on the contrary a drain on our resources. The strike has led to hardship on the part of lawyers and litigants and can indeed compound the serious security crisis in the nation, nevertheless I support it whole heartedly and call on the government to dialogue with the workers immediately.

There are no separate markets for state judicial workers and federal judicial workers.”On his part, Chairman of the Ado_Ekiti branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Dele Omotosho, said the strike action was a sad development at this crucial point in time in the history of Nigeria for this strike to take place.

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