Insecurity: Judiciary Workers In Rivers Begin Strike

Members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Rivers State Council, yesterday commenced an indefinite strike action in the state.
The union said that the strike is intended to register their grievances over what they described as “persistent bombing of high courts” as well as draw the attention of the state government to the insecurity of their members during these attacks.
Our Correspondent, who visited the premises of the state judiciary complex along Azikiwe Road in Port Harcourt yesterday, reports that the ever busy complex was deserted and abandoned.
The strike also affected all the judiciary staff in the state except the federal High Court and Court of Appeal Court.
Our Correspondent further reports that lawyers and litigants who came to the courts to prosecute their various cases yesterday were greeted with shock and surprise as they were denied access to the judiciary complex, even as all the entry and exit gates of the complex were under lock and key.
Police vehicles were seen stationed within and around the complex with fierce looking armed policemen on ground to forstall possible break-down of law and order during the period of the strike.
Sources said that the strike action embarked upon by members of JUSUN may not be unconnected with on-going leadership crisis rocking the state judiciary as well as the face-off between the state government and the National judiciary Council (NJC) over the appointment of a substantive chief judge of the state.
Speaking to The Tide, yesterday, the state Chairman of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) Comrade George Sokari stated that the indefinite strike action was prompted by the security challenges affecting the safety of their members working in the various courts across the state, adding that courts in the state have come under serious bomb attack in recent months.
He stated that members of the union were at high risk of death occasioned by the continuous attacks on the courts in the state, adding that it was for the safety of its members that the union decided to embark on the strike.
The JUSUN state boss said that the decision to embark on the strike was unanimously taken at a congress meeting, adding that the leadership of the state judiciary and the Nigeria labour congress (NLC) were adequately notified.
“Ït is the security challenge that prompted the strike action. We cannot tell where the next bomb attack will be as no body can guarantee security in our working environment”, he said.
“We must be alive to protect our various interests. Ahoada court has been bombed two times. That of Okehi in Etche L.G.A. has also been attacked. We must curtail these excesses of hoodlums in our courts. Our working environment, which is the court premises, is boiling”, he stated.
Sokari used the medium to debunk allegations that the strike was politically motivated.
Also speaking, the JUSUN Public relations Officer, Comrade Cletus Ibiere appealed to both lawyers and litigants in the state to understand their action as it was intended for the good of all stakeholders in the judiciary system.
He further appealed to the management of the judiciary as well as security operatives in the state to put in place proactive security measures that would guarantee the safety of their members, adding that the strike would not be called off unless the security in the courts improved.
Reacting in a telephone interview with The Tide, the Chief Registrar, High Court, Port Harcourt, Leonard Adoki (Esq.) confirmed the strike action embarked by members of JUSUN in the state and added that the leadership of the judiciary was notified accordingly.
It would be recalled that a bomb explosion Monday rocked the Ahoada High Court, destroying files, vital documents and properties worth millions of Naira.
The explosion occurred barely four months after a section of the same High court was bombed by hoodlums.
An eye witness said the explosion occurered early hours on Monday, before offices opened for business.
The state police Command while confirming the incident in a statement issued by the acting Police Public relations Officer, Grace iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, accompanied by the commander, SOS, Mr. Uche Chukwuma and the Area Commander has visited the scene to assess the extent of damage.
The statement indicated that the Police anti-bomb team has also collected samples for analysis, adding that there was no evidence of an explosion.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr. George Feyii (left), congratulates Mr. Benjamin Orugbani, shortly after his inauguration as Chairman, Rivers State Scholarship Board at Government House, Port Harcourt.