The entrance gates of the Federal High Court Headquarters, Abuja and the Court of Appeal Headquarters, Abuja have been shut and blocked by civil servants in compliance with the strike action approved by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) following its proposed N494,000 minimum wage demand.
TheWitness analyst visited the two courts as of 8:49 am on Monday and observed the entrance gates were blocked while lawyers stood outside. Others returned to their cars and drove away.
This means that all pending cases scheduled there for today are stalled following the development.
The lawyers’ visits may not be unconnected with the fact that for every scheduled date of proceedings, hearing notices are usually sent out to lawyers in respective cases, warranting their appearance in court.
TheWitness previously reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) announced a nationwide strike set to commence on Monday, June 3rd, 2024.
The financial secretary, of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Court of Appeal AbujaChapter, Comrade Joe Ako, told TheWitness that the staff members of the court are hundred percent in compliance with the ongoing strike as declared by the organized labour.
Reacting to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris’s position that the federal government cannot sustain paying organized labour the N494,000 minimum wage, the comrade accused the federal government’s officials of greediness, adding “They are greedy with the negotiation process with NLC.”
“The economy is already in shambles. There is nothing good about the economy. I don’t know why they are trying to align the sufferings of Nigerians regarding minimum wage to the Nigerian economy.
“We want the federal government to think twice because people are suffering and it is only this minimum wage that will a little bit, cushion the effects of the suffering they are going through,” Ako said.
At the Federal High Court, Abuja, a staff of the court who chose not to be named said he was directed not to allow anyone in, including staff.
The organized labour leaders had noted that the decision to commence industrial action comes after a previous demand for the Federal Government to finalize all negotiations regarding a new minimum wage by the end of May, expired.
Among other demands, organized labour had maintained that the hike in electricity tariff and the categorization of consumers into Bands forced Nigerian workers to commence strike today.
However, a Director-General of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Ajayi Kadri, confirmed on Saturday in a television program that the organized private sector concurred with the federal government that the new minimum wage should be N60,000.
On Sunday, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN), faulted the organised labour’s planned strike.
In his letter seen by TheWitness and copied to NLC, Inspector General of Police, and National Security Adviser, the AGF warned that the industrial action might amount to contempt of court, implying it the development may lead to the imprisonment of defaulters of a court order.
He stated an interim injunction order granted by the National Industrial Court on June 5, 2023, in suit no: NICN/ABJ/158/23, between the Federal Government of Nigeria & Anor V. Nigerian Labour Congress & Anor, still subsists.
“Order has neither been stayed nor set aside, therefore it remains binding on the labour unions,” the AGF stated.
