NBA Unhappy Over Lingering Judiciary Strike In Enugu

The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), has expressed worry over the lingering strike by judiciary workers in Enugu State, describing the development as unfortunate.

“It is an unfortunate situation that lawyers in the state have been thrown into limbo,” the Chairwoman of the association, Mrs Nnena Ukoh, told newsmen yesterday in Enugu, while reacting to he latest round of strike embarked upon by the workers.

“This is because the average man who needs justice cannot access the courts and the lawyers operating in the temple of justice cannot also meet their obligations to clients.

“There are many people incarcerated who cannot obtain justice because the courts are not working.

“For us lawyers, the courts are like our farms, from where we make a living. This is justice denied,” Ukoh said.

She urged all sides to the dispute to sit down and negotiate. We should not be grandstanding on this type of matter.

“Is our considered view that all sides must sit down and seek amicable resolution of the matter in the interest of litigants, many of whom had been suffering as a result of the lingering strike,” Ukoh stated.

The judiciary workers resumed the strike on Aug. 3, after an apparent collapse of negotiations.

The workers had been seeking a harmonisation of the salary disparity in their salary with those at the federal level.

The current Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike, in February intervened to plead with the workers to call off their strike on the understanding that Gov. Sullivan Chime would give them a fair hearing.