Almost one year after the Federal and state governments refused to either appeal or comply with the decision of a Federal High Court on the autonomy of the Judiciary, Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN has down tools to press for implementation of the judgment.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on January 13, 2014 upheld the constitutional provisions of financial autonomy of the Judiciary and ordered the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT to comply with the provision.
To ensure the autonomy of the Judiciary, the national executive of JUSUN has mobilized its members across the nation to embark on an indefinite strike, which began on Monday, January 5.
At the headquarters of Ikeja High Court in Lagos, gates leading to the Court premises were under locks and keys when the magazine visited on Monday morning.
While gates to Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos were found open, the courts were not sitting, as at the time of writing this report.
The Supreme Court and Court of appeal in Abuja were also locked. The situation is the same in Ogun and Kaduna states where all the Courtrooms were not open on the first working day of the year.
Speaking with the magazine on the telephone, Samuel Adesanya, JUSUN’s national deputy President said it is an “indefinite strike until all the state governors” and relevant authorities are “ready to comply.”
Adesanya said both the state and federal government have failed to work with the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU they signed with the union on November 27, 2014.
“That is the only issue we have. And we believe that if that singular issue is solved, it will solve so many problems in the Judiciary,” Adesanya said.
He went further to ask, “How will there not be corruption in the Judiciary when it is under the whims and caprices of the executive?”
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