ABIA JUDICIARY WORKERS' STRIKE: LAWYERS AND FAMILIES OF DETAINEES GROW INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED. (PHOTO).

 

Members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Abia State chapter, have continued their ongoing strike despite two different agreements they signed with the Abia State government.

While the Abia State Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, announced last week that an agreement had been reached with the JUSUN members to call off the strike, JUSUN, led by Chinedu Ezeh, has insisted that they will only return to work if the state government pays money into their accounts, apart from the over N300 million released by the state government in December.

JUSUN’s demands include old and new minimum wage welfare packages, among others, while the state government has maintained that it has been doing a lot for the benefit of judiciary staff in the state.

The situation has taken a toll on the administration of justice in the state, as some lawyers who spoke to DAILY POST on condition of anonymity lamented that they have been technically out of work, with piles of their case files lying unattended because of the strike.

Also, clients of the lawyers, including those whose relatives are in Nigeria Correctional Centres in Umuahia and Aba Prisons, are calling for an eventual resolution of the government-JUSUN disagreement as it is causing overcrowding in the correctional centres.

One of the clients, Mazi Jonathan, whose son is an awaiting trial inmate in Umuahia Correctional Centre, said his son needs justice, which can only be possible if the courts reopen.

Also, many bank customers, real estate transactions requiring court documentation, and some individuals planning to travel outside the country have been affected, as they cannot process some relevant court documents.

While the state government said it released more than N300 million since December 2024 for the judiciary staff, the JUSUN executives claim that their bill is about N900 million.