Lagos—Except for the on-going “Settlement Week”, in the Lagos Judiciary, which prevented High Court from litigating on cases before it, all workers of the judiciary were at work yesterday.

The settlement week enable litigants to sit around table and mediate on their cases peacefully.

Observation by Vanguard at the Ikeja Division of the state High Court revealed that the Magistrate courts were sitting and attending to cases filed before them.

The probate, litigation and bailiff sessions of the court were working optimally attending to all issues brought before them.

A senior Registrar told Vanguard that it will be counter productive for the workers in the judiciary to go on strike, especially when the court was on strike for over a month last year.

He said: “ We can’t join the strike called by the NLC. This is because, it’s obvious that there is a subsisting  court’s ruling restricting the body from engaging on the work to rule.

“Also, you are aware that we were on strike in most part of last year when Judiciary Staff Association of Nigeria, JUSAN asked judiciary workers across the country to stay at home to press for their various demands including the independence of the judiciary. So for us to join a strike action distrupting smooth judicial process will be counter productive,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawyers who were in court expressed divergent views over the strike action called by the labour and the division among thge workers.

Mr Olalekan Steven, said: ”I am afraid that now the labour leaders cannot speak with one voice to address common affecting Nigerians and especially workers in the country.

“For them not to agree on whether to embark on strike or not is a minus on the labour struggle in the country. It will definitely have a virile effect on labour issues in future.” Steven however supported the NLC despite the fact that he came to represent his client in court.

Another lawyer, Evelyn Adams questioned the integrity of the NLC for them to call workers out for the industrial action.

According to her, doing so now amount “to ordoinary face saving” from the union leaders. She noted that something positive suppose to have been done before now, not until when the government announced  new price regime and “Nigerinas have adjusted to buying it at the rate.”