Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
Nigerian judiciary workers under the aegis of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, on Monday embarked on an indefinite strike to press for direct release of funding for the judiciary.
All the courts in the nation’s capital, Abuja, were locked today while workers who turned up for work were denied access to the courts premises.
President of the judiciary workers body, Mr. Marwan Mustapha Adamu, in an interview with newsmen outside the federal high court complex in Abuja noted that the industrial action will not be called off until the federal and state governments comply with a judgment obtained by the workers’ body on the direct release of Judiciary appropriations to the National Judicial Council, NJC, for onward release to the courts.
“The Accountant General of the Federation had persistently refused to comply with the judgment of this court directing him to release the funds appropriated for the judiciary directly to it. Both the federal government and the state governments have continued to treat the judiciary as a department of the executive arm of government contrary to the provisions of the constitution”
Continuing, Mr. Adamu noted that the workers body went to court in 2013 seeking interpretation of sections 121(3), 81(3) and 162 (9) of the nation’s constitution dealing with issues of funding of the judiciary and obtained judgment against the executive arm of government’s handling of the funds meant for the judiciary.
“As I speak right now, that decision was never challenged by the executive arm of government neither was there any stay in the execution of that judgment, yet the federal government has refused to obey a valid court judgment. A situation where the judiciary will go cap in hand begging for funds from the executive is unacceptable as the practice impedes the works of the judiciary. This fight is for the judicial system to work well and not just for the interest of the judiciary workers. In some states, courts sit in rented apartments or shops, this practice must stop”
As the courts remain under locks and keys, tension is likely to mount within the circle of political actors who are challenging outcomes of their respective political parties’ primary elections ahead of the due date stipulated by the Independent National Election Commission, INEC.
Before the court embarked on the Christmas break, cases over the conduct of primaries by the political parties were heard on daily bases but many were yet to be decided and hopes of speedy determination of these cases are being threatened by the industrial action of the judiciary workers.