Courts To Remain Closed As Judiciary Workers, FG Fail To Reach Agreement

Courts across the country will remain closed until at least next week after a meeting between judiciary workers and representatives of the Federal Government ended with no concrete solutions.

The meeting was postponed till next week.

The workers have been on strike since April as they insist on financial autonomy for the judiciary.

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The Federal Government has said the appropriate laws for judiciary autonomy have been signed into law and that implementation lies with state governments.

At Thursday’s meeting, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, reiterated that the Federal Government has no problem with the issue of financial autonomy for the judiciary.

He maintained that it is an issue that concerns states and their finances.

The Minister added that major progress has been made during the series of meetings the government has held since the strike was declared.

Ngige said 90 percent of all requirements have been met and that the remaining 10 percent need to be addressed after the reopening of the courts.

He pleaded with the workers to suspend their strike, so that all the procedures can be operationalised.

He also said that the closure of courts is an impediment for security agencies, who cannot charge suspects of crimes such as kidnapping and banditry to court.

In his remarks, President of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Marwan Adamu, said the meeting wouldn’t have been necessary if the position of the law and constitution had been adhered to.

He said the workers were not attempting to negotiate the constitution but to ensure compliance with its provisions on financial autonomy for the judiciary.