THERE seems to be no end in sight for the industrial action declared by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Osun State chapter.
JUSUN had on November 22 embarked on indefinite strike following a clash with policemen during a protest against the embattled Chief Judge of the State, Justice Adepele Ojo.
The strike action has halted delivery of justice as courts across the state have been shut.
Asked if the union would suspend the strike following the affirmation of Justice Ojo as the Chief Judge of the State by the National Judicial Council of Nigeria (NJC), the State Chairman of JUSUN, Comrade Gbenga Eludare, said the industrial action would continue until their demands are attended to.
With Eludare’s declaration, many awaiting trial inmates at Ilesa and Ile-Ife Correctional Centres will continue to spend time in custody, as the wheel of Justice has been grounded to a halt in the state.
Also, suspects in police custody, especially those with serious criminal allegations, would not be arraigned in court anytime soon, leaving them to the mercy of the police.
Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday in a telephone interview, Eludare said the union would not end the strike action until their demands are met.
Eludare said: “We are not disputing that Justice Adepele Ojo is the Chief Judge of Osun State, and the fact that NJC affirmed her as the incumbent CJ is nothing to us; we are not disputing that and that is not part of our struggle.
“Our struggle is to protect the interest of our members, to fight for our rights, and we have put forward all our demands to the Chief Judge, government and general public. Unfortunately, they have not been attended to up till now.
“We embarked on strike action to drive home our demands, and I think the only thing that can stop that is seeing our demands attended to. But there is nothing of such up till now. So, what do we do than to continue our strike? Don’t forget that the National Secretariat has taken over the matter, it is no longer our struggle.
“Apart from the effort of the state government by paying the outstanding salaries of unlawful suspended judicial staff, members, there have not been any move or meeting with anybody on our agitation. And apart from the first dialogue we had with representatives of the body of judges and national secretariat also came to meet with them, nobody has approached us.
“It is the concerned authority that will determine how long the industrial action will last, because we have laid down all our requests.
“Ordinarily, what I expected from the Chief Judge was to call a meeting and dialogue with us on how to resolve the issues, see to the payment of our wardrobe allowances and reinstate our members that were unlawfully suspended and pay their salaries, among others, but nothing of such has happened. In fact, the attitude of the CJ is not encouraging. Her attitude shows how unrepentant she is.”
Ismaeel Uthman is an Editor, Media Consultant with over 14 years experience in print journalism.
A consummate writer and reporter, Uthman has received accolades for his works, especially one that appeals for good governance and community development. He is a recipient of many laurels, including the Best Investigative Reporter (Print) Award of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Osun State Council, in 2020.
