Lawyer Drags Judicial Workers To Court Over Six Months Old Strike

As the strike action by the Cross River State Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) lingers, a lawyer in the state Mr. James Iwara Ofem has dragged the union and four others to the Federal High Court in Calabar.

Following this strike action the judiciary in the state has remained under lock and key for over six months and lawyers in the state have remained jobless staying at home.

In the case with court number FHC/CA/CS/67/202, JUSUN and the Attorney General of the Federation are the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively. Asanya Ebong, Emma Okon Asuquo and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Cross-River State are the 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants respectively.

Accordingly, the plaintiff in a notice of originating summons brought pursuant to Order 3 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009, is seeking “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants from continuation of the said strike whether by themselves, their agents, servants, privies from the further continuation of the said strike action or through any other self-help method aimed at enforcing the said judgment unless the Law Courts are activated to enforce same. “A declaration that the judgment obtained in suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/667/13 between JUSUN vs National Judicial Council (NJC) and 73 others delivered on the 13th day of January 2014 in favour of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria cannot be enforced by the use the current strike action embarked upon by the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants, but can only be executed by activating the Law Courts through the procedure(s) as provided for in the sheriffs and Civil Process Act, chapter 6 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 and the Judgment (Enforcement) Rules made there-under, but not by self-help”.

In addition, he also sought a declaration that “the said strike action embarked upon by the 1st, 3rd and 4th Defendants as a means of executing the said judgment is not in accordance with the provision of the Sherriff and Civil Process Act and Judgment (Enforcement) Rules and therefore illegal, null and void. And for such further of other Order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem it fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”