Nigerian Govt’s Silence On Courts Shutdown ‘Shocking’ — NBA

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday expressed shock over the federal government’s “silence” on the judiciary workers’ strike that has grounded courts nationwide since Tuesday.

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Tuesday embarked on the nationwide industrial action to press home their demand for financial autonomy for the judicial arm of government.

It was earlier reported that the NBA and JUSUN delegates met on Thursday at the national secretariat of the association of Nigerian lawyers to brainstorm on ways of resolving the industrial dispute.

Our reporter, who attended a press briefing held by the parties after the meeting, reported that the National Treasurer of JUSUN, Jimoh Musa, who led the union’s delegation, said the strike would remain.

On his part, the NBA’s 1st Vice President, John Aikpokpo-Martins, who led the association’s delegation and chaired the meeting with JUSUN officers, lamented the seeming indifference of the federal government to the shutdown of court activities across Nigeria since Tuesday.

He said, “It is very unfortunate that the federal government has not responded to the striking judiciary workers.

“The NBA is shocked that JUSUN called for a strike, they gave a notice of the strike, then the strike commenced on Tuesday, and today is Thursday, there is no contact form the Federal Government to JUSUN.

“We are not happy with that at all. It shows that there is no serious effort being put in place to ensure that the courts come back to life.

“The federal government ought to have had an interface with the striking judiciary workers.