The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has suspended its nationwide strike which lasted for over 2 months. The suspension of the strike action was reached during the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Wednesday, with the union set to resume work on Monday.
JUSUN Treasurer, Jimoh Alonge disclosed that the strike was called off due to the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Alonge said, “NJC, which is the highest body of the judiciary, appealed to the union to give them two to three months to weigh into the matter and make sure they actualize what we are asking for. They noted that the public is suffering. We decided to accord them that respect.”
On April 6th, 2021, JUSUN had embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike in protest of the non-implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary.
President Muhammadu Buhari had signed an executive order in May 2020, granting financial autonomy to both the legislative and judiciary arms of government, but the order has remained unimplemented due to concerns from state governors.
A committee set up by the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) was established to develop a template for the implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary.