After about two weeks of an indefinite strike embarked upon by judicial officials in Ondo State, the coalition of magistrates, presidents of Grade A Customary Courts and legal research officers of the state’s judiciary has suspended the industrial action.
According to the leaders of the coalition, Mrs O. Edwin, Mr Degun Rotiba and Mrs Agbomola, the suspension became imperative following a series of meetings held with the state government.
Courts in the state had been under lock and key for over two weeks following the industrial action embarked upon by magistrates, presidents of Grade A customary courts, and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
The strike was triggered by the purported failure of the state government to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary and longstanding complaints over poor welfare packages for judicial workers.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Akure, the state capital, the demands of the coalition, which included financial autonomy of the judiciary as well as other pertinent issues, were extensively deliberated upon at the meetings.
With agreements reached on the coalition’s demands and commitment towards immediate implementation, members were urged to resume duties on Tuesday, 20 January 2026.
The statement read in part: “Consequent upon the withdrawal of services by members of the above coalition, there were a series of meetings and engagements with the executive arm of government over the immediate demands of the coalition and the issue of financial autonomy for the Ondo State judiciary.
“The engagements were conducted by critical stakeholders, including the coalition, JUSUN, and government.
“All pressing issues of official cars for magistrates, presidents of Grade A customary courts, and the new salary structure for magistrates, presidents, and legal research officers were considered.
“After a painstaking but realistic agreement on all issues and the demonstration of good faith and commitment towards immediate implementation of autonomy for the Ondo State judiciary and other demands raised in our letter, we hereby suspend the withdrawal of services and direct our members to resume work from tomorrow, the 20th of January, 2026.
“We appreciate our members for their commitment, the executive of JUSUN for their strategic cooperation, the NBA for their understanding, and the general public for their patience.”
Meanwhile, the impact of the industrial action had been severe, as the striking judicial workers accused the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, SAN, as well as the Commissioner for Finance, Omowumi Isaac, of strangling the judicial arm of government by withholding its financial autonomy.
Also, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Lawal, had lamented the strike action, stressing that the situation had led to suspects who ought to be charged in court being released.
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