In compliance with the strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), entrances to Lagos High Court, Ikeja, Igbosere and Ogba Magistrate courts were shut yesterday.
The Guardian learnt the commencement of the nationwide industrial strike affected other Lagos courts in Epe, Badagry, Yaba as well at the court sitting at Osborne, Ikoyi.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, was under lock and key. But the Lagos Division of Court of Appeal opened and some of the court had begun sitting before proceeding was stopped abruptly.
Labour union members went to the premises of the appellate court, and demanded total compliance with the strike action and at 11:20 in the morning, litigants, lawyers and workers left the premises.
The gates were shut by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ikeja branch, as lawyers and litigants were turned back from entering the court premises.
The strike enforcers urged those, who tried to gain entrance into the court premises, to comply with the order, as courts were shut in strict compliance with JUSUN order.
On June 1, JUSUN had, in a statement, notified its members of indefinite nationwide strike due to inconclusive decision on the new minimum wage. The statement, which was signed by the acting General Secretary of JUSUN, M.J. Akwashiki, said the strike action would start midnight on Sunday and that all branches of the union were expected to ensure strict compliance to the directive.
The statement read: “All vice presidents of our great unions are to monitor their respective zones to ensure compliance with total shut down of all courts and judicial institutes across Nigeria.”
Similarly, gates to Federal High Court headquarters, Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja and the Court of Appeal’s headquarters in Abuja were all closed and blocked by civil servants to lawyers and litigants.
The Guardian observed that around the premises of the court, lawyers and litigants were seen stranding, while those who made efforts to access the court were stopped by the official of judiciary union.
Consequently, all pending cases scheduled for yesterday were stalled. The executive of the Judiciary staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) were at the gates enforcing orders of their association.
MEANWHILE, when The Guardian visited the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), it was discovered that that the strike disrupted clinical services, as only emergency cases were attended to at the Medical and Surgical Emergency Department.
Members of the health unions, in compliance with the directive from their national bodies, had earlier gone around the health facility, driving the staff out of the offices.
Patients and their relatives were seen complaining about the situation, with some planning on transferring their loved ones to private health facilities.
A worker in the hospital said: “The doctors left early because of the strike and only emergency cases are being attended to. They are observing the strike and relatives have taken away their sick.
