The complete paralysis of the Osun State justice system since September 19, 2025, due to the industrial action by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), presents a deeply worrying crisis.
While the workers’ demands for improved welfare, the implementation of delayed promotions and entitlements, training sponsorships at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), and provision of essential utility vehicles are legitimate, the prolonged closure of the courts is exacting an unbearable toll on the very fabric of justice and the constitutional order of the state.
The judiciary is, unequivocally, the last hope of the common man. In a society where the potential for oppression by powerful individuals and institutions is a constant threat, denying citizens access to the courts is tantamount to dismantling their fundamental defense mechanism. Justice delayed is justice denied, and the current stalemate means thousands of litigants, victims of crime, and ordinary citizens seeking legal redress are now trapped in a limbo of uncertainty and vulnerability.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Osun State Council, has rightly affirmed JUSUN’s grievances, describing them as legitimate and long overdue, and condemning the consistent neglect and administrative insensitivity faced by judiciary workers. It is indeed disheartening that employees in other government ministries have received their 2024 and 2025 promotions and corresponding salary adjustments while essential judiciary staff continue to lag behind. This disparity is grossly unfair and unacceptable and fundamentally undermines morale and productivity.
However, the path forward must now shift decisively from agitation to resolution. The continuation of the strike, no matter how justified its origins, inflicts immense damage on the public interest. Both the Osun State Judicial Service Commission (JSC), as the management, and the leadership of JUSUN are bound by statutory obligations under Nigerian law.
Section 18 of the Trade Disputes Act is explicit: all parties to an industrial dispute are under an obligation to “continue to engage in dialogue, conciliation, or arbitration in good faith until a resolution is achieved.”
This is not a time for rigid posturing or waiting games; it is an urgent moment for principled compromise and swift action. The JSC must demonstrate good faith by immediately addressing the workers’ core entitlements particularly the long-overdue promotions and salary adjustments while JUSUN must reciprocate by suspending the strike to allow court operations to resume.
The machinery of justice must be restored immediately. The constitutional mandate of protecting the rights of every citizen transcends the specifics of any industrial dispute.
We urge the judicial management and JUSUN leadership to immediately and sincerely comply with their statutory obligation to dialogue, ensuring industrial harmony and, most critically, restoring the beacon of justice for the people of Osun State. The courts must reopen now.