Judicial Union Denies Tribunal Officials Access to Court Premises

Members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Monday prevented secretariat officials of the Election Petition Tribunal on the National and State House of Assembly polls in Ondo State from gaining entrance into the premises of the State High Court.

The High Court 2 within the premises of the complex had been serving as the venue for the sitting of the tribunal after elections.

THISDAY gathered that the JUSUN members in Ondo State refused the tribunal officials entrance into the court complex in compliance with the directive of the union's National Secretariat.

The National Secretariat of the judicial workers' union had directed that its members in the states of the federation should not allow sitting of the tribunal in their states until their state governors implement financial autonomy of the judiciary.

Ondo State chairman of JUSUN, Mr Femi Ogunode, confirmed the directive of the union to THISDAY.

Ogunode, who said members of the union in the state and their colleagues had been on strike on the issue of financial autonomy over three months ago, insisted that the union would not return to work until the Ondo state government had met its demand on the judiciary’s autonomous funding.

The Election Petition Tribunal was expected to have commenced receiving petitions from aggrieved contestants of the March 28 and April 11 elections.