Since November 22, 2023 when the Osun State chapter of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria shut all the courts operating in the state and embarked on an indefinite strike to protest alleged highhandedness, withholding of wardrobe allowances among others by the leadership of the judiciary in the state, many things have been going wrong, especially in the area of justice dispensation.
Not long that the state governor, Ademola Adeleke and the State House of Assembly asked the state Chief Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo, to step aside over alleged abuse of office among other accusations, judiciary workers in the state realised that the Chief Judge has been denying them of their entitlements and witch-hunting some of their colleagues.
From protest at the Osogbo High Court gate, the judiciary staff declared indefinite action. Police had dispersed the judiciary workers to stem possible degeneration of the protest, caused by the unexpected arrival of the CJ who had come to resume work on the fateful day after the National Judicial Council reinstated her after denying Adeleke’s request to suspend Ojo.
Notwithstanding Ojo’s reinstatement, JUSUN paralysed activities in courts across the state and directed its members to shun their duty posts.
Exactly two months after the industrial action, members of the public who need to obtain one court affidavit or the other for their various immediate uses have not been able to do so.
The Point gathered that some students attempting to gain admission to tertiary institutions and needed declaration of age had to travel to other neighbouring states to obtain the documents.
It was gathered that awaiting inmates in Police and Correctional Centres have continued to languish endlessly as courts remain shut while their cases linger unnecessarily.
Apart from suspects awaiting further court proceedings that are in correctional centres in Ilesa and Ile-Ife, others, especially suspects with serious criminal allegations could not be arraigned in court.
Besides, Osun residents who are in need of affidavits for various urgent purposes remain in dilemma and suffering in silence while official judicial transactions remain paralysed.
Some others have remained financially incapacitated following their inability to secure affidavits that would facilitate the operation of their bank accounts.
Findings by The Point revealed that the Osun State Police Command has instructed its divisions and stations across the state to only detain suspects with serious cases such as murder and kidnapping, in bid to decongest their cells.
The Police, for two months now have not arraigned any of the many suspects languishing in its cells owing to the strike.
A Police Inspector in the state command who did not want to be mentioned because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told The Point that “we have been told to only attend to severe cases like murder and kidnapping. These are the cases where we can detain the suspects involved. Other matters that are not severe will be settled and we are not expected to detain the suspects involved.”
Meanwhile, some residents who had taken theft suspects to police stations complained that they were released immediately even when the complaints were not pleased with the settlement terms.
Also, some lawyers who have been smiling to the banks through the overnight cases they handle have been groaning in silence since courts were shut.
Shedding more lights on the implication of shutting courts for a long time and how the general masses have been severely affected, a legal practitioner in Osogbo, J. P. Jones told The Point that the Rent Tribunal that settles cases arising between landlords and tenants was also shut, a situation he said has been causing more rift between parties.
“The strike is stifling the arm of government called the judiciary as far as Osun State is concerned. It is stifling it in the sense that aside from the Federal High Court in Osogbo, we have no other option to any aggrieved entity as far as Osun State is concerned and the so-called Federal High Court that is open to the masses has limitations. They have jurisdictional limitations; there are some matters that would be treated by the Federal High Court while there are some that would be treated by the State High Courts, Magistrates and Customary Courts.
“As it stands now, even the Rent Tribunal is paralysed. Tenants are on rampage against the landlord while landlords, too, are trying to use the influence of the executive to perpetrate some acts which ought to be done by the judiciary. So, there is serious chaos. Several cases are suffering; even divorce matters which ought to go on for like five years and those that have been on hearing have been truncated. So, the masses are suffering. Like the saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers it. The grass in this sense is the masses,” he stated.
Agreeing that lawyers are also affected in the lingering crisis, Jones said, “In fairness to God and mankind, it is affecting everybody, lawyers inclusive. But, the luck the lawyers have is that we are into other things such as properties, there is no cause for alarm. It may only affect lawyers that rely solely on litigation largely. It is the property aspect that we are using to augment.
“Speaking for myself, even if they decide to hold on to their strike for the next two years, it is inconsequential as far as God is above.”
Despite the challenges highlighted, the leadership of JUSUN in the state has insisted that until their demands are attended to, the strike would continue.
Even though the state executive of JUSUN led by its chairman, Gbenga Eludare, had been dissolved by the national body, the judiciary workers insisted that the strike would continue. The striking workers shunned appeals by the Nigerian Bar Association in the state for them to call off the strike.
In some quarters, it has been insinuated that the state government allegedly instigated the strike in order to prevent Justice Ojo from gaining entry into office. But, the state government has debunked this speculation.
Recently, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adegboyega Awomolo, accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of stoking crisis in state judiciary arm of government
The SAN, who is the Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers, asked the governor to leave the judiciary alone and allow it perform its duties.
“Let me also appeal to the Governor and government of Osun State, please, leave the judiciary alone. Leave the judiciary alone, let them prosper. Let them do their work. Why is that a small labour unit disturbing the whole of the judiciary of Osun State? The Attorney General is looking, the Governor is looking, and everybody is looking. What are you looking for? The common people of Osun State, what are you looking for? People are taken to jail every day, there is no court to sit over them.
“There are communal fights here and there over land, over chieftaincy, over property. What is the government and people of Osun State doing? Help us, leave the judiciary alone. Let the judiciary in Osun State perform its functions. Follow the due process of law. Osun State Judiciary deserves her independence.
Please, leave them alone,” he appealed to Adeleke.
Meanwhile, the state government has denied having any hand in the crisis rocking Osun judiciary.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment in the state, Kolapo Alimi, while reacting said, “The Osun State Government, in no way, has no hand in the current imbroglio going on in the Osun Judiciary.”
