By Rose Onda
Activities at the Supreme Court in Abuja were grounded on Tuesday morning as judiciary workers commenced an indefinite nationwide strike to press for financial autonomy for the judicial arm of government.
This was against the last minute appeal by the Nigerian Bar Association to the workers to shelve the planned strike.
The gates to the apex court were said to have been locked, leaving workers who intended to resume duties after the Easter holiday stranded.
The strike is expected to be replicated across all Nigerian courts.
A circular by the Secretary General of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, I. M. Adetola, stated that the strike was necessitated by the failure of the federal and state governments to implement a judgement of the Federal High Court, which granted financial autonomy to the judicial arm of government.
It said the union had at its last national executive meeting on March 13, 2021 in Abuja issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government to implement the financial autonomy of the judiciary with a threat to resume the suspended national strike action.