JUSUN Strike: Quit Vacation, Resolve Crisis — Ozekhome Tells Osun CJ

Legal luminary and patron of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, has advised the embattled Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Adepele Ojo, to resolve the ongoing judicial crisis in the state.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels TV on Tuesday, Ozekhome decried the Osun judiciary for being “on strike or forced vacation” since November 2022, calling it a “self-immolation” by the judiciary against itself.

Ozekhome said: “It is such a shame that the judiciary in Osun has been on strike or forced vacation since November 22 last year. By the way, I’m the Patron of JUSUN and because of that, I know their plight and their problems.

“We usually say the judiciary is being buffeted by the Executive or by the Legislature, but the situation in Osun can be likened to a scenario where the judiciary is engaging in self-destruct or self-immolation. This time, it is not the other arm of government that is dealing with the judiciary, it is the judiciary itself in Osun that is dealing with itself.

“The Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo, should climb down from her high horse and attend to the burning issue at stake. She should not behave like Nero, who was playing games when Rome was on fire. She should stop going to Canada for vacation when the judiciary she heads is at a standstill,” he stated.

Highlighting what led to the current impasse between the Chief Judge and the workers under her leadership, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria emphasized that judicial workers are entitled to certain prerequisites of office and benefits of service.

He gave an instance of the five embattled staff of the union who were unjustly suspended from work and arraigned in court, but at the same time, their salaries were being paid by the government but not getting to the embattled workers, a situation that led to the staff and union accusing the Chief Judge of highhandedness and not obeying the rule of law, among other things.

Asked about the solution to the judicial impasse, Ozekhome said: “Based on several instances of the past, it is only the NJC that has the disciplinary power over judges, and I am aware that the NJC currently has the petition of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Osun State Chapter, that of the House of Assembly, and that of the Executive arm on their desk. It is now left to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who also doubles as the Chairman of the NJC, to quickly meet and resolve this matter.

“Do you know what it means to close down the judiciary arm of government for three months? When potential investors hear such, they may run away.

“My Lord Justice Adepele Ojo, I pray that you please in the name of God and in the name of all that is good for Osun State and the judiciary, look at the situation and climb down from your high-horse. This current impasse can be resolved within 24 hours even without calling the NJC to be involved, if you want the matter to be resolved.”

National Industrial Court Hears Summon March 4

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Ibadan, has scheduled March 4, 2024, to hear the Originating Summons of a frontline legal practitioner, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), concerning the strike action embarked upon by JUSUN.

Presiding Justice Dele Peters of NICN Court 1 has fixed the date after hearing arguments from counsels to the parties in the suit marked NICN/IB/06/2024.

Awomolo, in his originating summons dated January 30, 2024, is seeking a declaration that JUSUN and its leaders at the time lacked the power to declare and maintain the industrial action because of a combined interpretation of Sections 18 (1) of the Trade Dispute Act 1976, read in conjunction with Sections 4 and 6 of the Trade Dispute Act 1976, Section 31(6) of the Trade Union Act 2005, and Rule 29 (1), (II), (III) (IV) of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (Amended Constitution 2016).

He is also seeking a declaration that the strike was unconstitutional, null and void.

The former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Osun State is praying to the court for an order of mandatory injunction compelling the judiciary workers to call off the industrial action and direct them to resume work, having paralyzed judicial activities in the state since November 22, 2023.

Awomolo is also praying for an order directing the state’s Attorney General “to ensure, facilitate and maintain the reopening and continued function of the Judiciary of Osun State by doing all that the government of Osun State is expected to do under the law; and an order directing the Commissioner of Police to provide security for Osun State Judiciary workers to ensure full compliance with the order and judgment of the court.”