JUSUN: Courts to reopen as judiciary workers suspend strike

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has resolved to suspend its two-month old nationwide strike.

The strike will be suspended on Monday.

The decision to call off the strike was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of JUSUN held in Abuja.

Recall that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had in a meeting with JUSUN officials on Tuesday, pleaded with the striking court workers to end the strike action in the interest of the country and the suffering court users.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad attended the meeting.

There were indications on Monday that the strike was about to be called off, when JUSUN task force allowed the swearing-in of Justice Salisu Garba as the substantive Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

The event took place at the Supreme Court which hitherto had been closed due to the strike.

JUSUN had embarked on the strike to seek the implementation of the Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2020, which seeks to enforce financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature in states.

By the Executive Order No. 10 of 2020, it is mandatory for all states to include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The order mandates the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from source amount due to the state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state, in the case of states that refuse to implement the autonomy provision.

But the governors have not complied with the executive order, hence the decision of the judicial workers to go on strike.