Financial Autonomy: Lawyers visit Lagos Govt House in support of JUSUN strike
By Tobi Adetunji
The Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch has held a solidarity protest with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to demand the implementation of the financial autonomy of the judiciary
The protest which took place on Monday was monitored by our correspondent.
Some of those who took part are: The NBA Chairman, Bartholomew Aguegbodo and members of the branch who walked from the bar center of the Lagos High Court Ikeja to the Governor’s Office in Alausa.
However, the gate of the Government House was shut when they arrived but at least three different people came out to meet with the lawyers who insisted on handing over the letter containing their demands to the Governor, his Deputy, or the Head of Service.
The lawyers were later prevailed on to send their representatives to go into the government house to drop the letter.
Four of them including the Chairman went in while other members waited outside.
They were gone for less than 20 minutes and on arrival, the Chairman of the branch said the letter was received by a certain Mr Deji, the officer in charge of mails who would make sure that the Governor receives it. He also said they were fine with the arrangement.
Meanwhile, Nigerian NewsDirect has learnt that four of the NBA Branches in the state, namely Lagos, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry have agreed to pay a “visit” to the Governors’ office on Tuesday in line with the directive from the NBA President, Olumide Akpata.
The branch chairmen were said to have met over the weekend via WhatsApp to agree on modalities for the visit and have resolved to deliver a ‘joint letter’ to press home the demand for financial autonomy for the judiciary.
Nigerian NewsDirect confirmed that efforts to make the Ikeja branch join the other branches in the visit tomorrow met a brick wall, as the branch insisted that it had resolved at its last monthly meeting to embark on a “protest march,” even before the directive from the NBA President.
Earlier, the NBA had on Friday night directed its branch chairmen nationwide to mobilise their members and visit their respective state governors to demand the implementation of the financial autonomy of the judiciary.
In a press statement personally signed by its President, the association said “at the visit, the branches in each state are to present a jointly written demand to the state governors requesting full compliance with existing legislative instruments and court judgments on the financial autonomy of the judiciary.”
