The leadership of Osun State Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has berated a non-governmental organisation, Word Institute for Peace (WIP), over the 7-day ultimatum it issued the union to stop its ongoing strike.
Osun Defender had reported that WIP at a press conference on Monday in Osogbo, threatened to take legal action against the union if it failed to resume back to work in 7 days.
The Executive Director of WIP, Lamina Omotoyosi, who spoke at the press conference, noted that the strike has disrupted the judicial process and denied citizens their right to a fair and timely trial.
But a statement by the state JUSUN secretary,
Idris Adeniran said the threat by WIP is laughable, adding that the claim by the organisation that the National body of JUSUN was not supporting the strike is false.
Adeniran said it was concerning that WIP did not talk about the persecution of members of the union, maintaining that the union is resolute in fighting the battle of oppression and dehumanization of its members to a standstill.
He however noted that the union would look into the plea of the state government for them to resume work as soon as the Union members acknowledged the payment of the 2023 wardrobe allowance and guaranteed that the oppression by the State Chief Judge would stop forthwith.
The statement read, “The attention of JUSUN Exco has been drawn to the letter written by one faceless and unidentified “World Institute for Peace”WIP” threatening a legal action against the industrial action embarked upon by the JUSUN in Osun State.
“It is laughable that the WIP never consulted wide before jumping into this issue as contained in their said letter. The Institute claimed that the National Body of our union had dessociated herself from our industrial action and which is a complete lie.
“For the records, the Osun State chapter of JUSUN have the backing of the national headquarters of the union on this industrial action and this can be confirmed by anyone who cares and not a political jobbers like WIP.
“It is also a thing of concern to us to note that the self-acclaimed human rights organization was not aware of the persecution of our members but now suddenly turned to be holier than the Pope.
“While we sympathize with all the people who have one thing or the other to do with the courts, especially Lawyers and litigants, we wish to state that the Union is resolute to fight this battle of oppression and dehumanization of our members to a standstill.
“JUSUN however thank the State Government of Osun State for intervening in the situation of our members who were deprived of their salaries for months and the Union equally assure the State Government that the plea by the Government to sheath the sword and resume our duty post shall be looked in to, as soon as the Union members acknowledge the payment of 2023 wardrobe allowance and guaranteed that the oppression by My Lord the Hon. Chief Judge shall stop forthwith.”
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
