Lawyer and civil rights activist, Kayode Ajulo, has described the ongoing strike by judiciary workers as counter-productive and inimical to the stability of the nation’s judicial system.
He has therefore called on the leadership of the union to “cease fire,” and look inward and consider a more beneficial approach to ensure that their agitations are implemented.
JUSUN had called its members out on a strike on the 6th of April, 2021 to protest the failure of state governments to implement the financial autonomy of the judiciary.
In a statement he personally signed, Ajulo admitted that the cause for which the judicial workers are agitating is just, noting that the benchmark for the assessment of any democratic government is the independence of its judiciary.
“This is because democracy is built on the twin doctrines of separation of powers and the rule of law. This is why the constitution clearly delineates the powers of each of the three arms of government and also provides instances where they work together. Anything short of these instances is tantamount to rule of arbitrariness which is frowned upon by all democracies in the world,” he noted.
He cited Section 81 and 121 of the constitution which he said provides that the burden of the welfare and maintenance of judges is placed on the National Judicial Council, and not on the governors.
“For the sake of emphasis, Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides as follows: ‘Any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned’,” he said.
He said, therefore, that the refusal of the governors to comply with the extant provisions of law amounts to a total infraction of the provisions of the Constitution.
But the rights activist urged the leadership of JUSUN to take a cue from the incessant strike actions embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other trade unions in Nigeria and their implications on the nation.
He said: “The point I am painstakingly driving home is that strike action is not the ultimate panacea to resolve disputes; each case has to be decided based on the circumstances surrounding it and parties involved.
“The leadership of JUSUN is thus admonished to look inward and consider a more beneficial approach to ensure that their agitations are implemented by these erring governors and not allow same to inimically affect the fundamental rights of the citizens and the confidence reposed in the judiciary by members of the society.”
As a permanent solution, he suggested that the Attorney-General of the Federation as the Chief Law Officer should approach the Supreme Court, pursuant to the provisions of Section 232(1) of the 1999 Constitution, for an Order of Court to deduct at source from the Federating Account and Consolidated Revenue Fund of the states any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary.
He added that each state’s attorney-general should also ensure due compliance with the extant and clear provisions of the Constitution as the Chief Law Officer of the state.
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