The trial of six police officers in an FCT High Court charged with the alleged killing of six Abuja auto-spare parts dealers in 2005, suffered a setback on Thursday due to the strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
The accused policemen are Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalami (at large); Nicholas Zacharia, Emmanuel Baba, Emmanuel Acheneje and Sadiq Salami.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is accusing the police officers of killing Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike and Tina Arebun.
The deceased, aged between 21 and 25 years, were returning from a night party in 2005 when they were allegedly killed.
NAN reports that the trial suffered several adjournments due to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, who was appointed as the Chairman of the Anambra Election Petitions Tribunal.
The matter which was adjourned for continuation of hearing could not go on because JUSUN directed all Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court, Court of appeal, Federal High Courts and FCT High Court to join the strike.
Mr Marwan Adamu, the National President of JUSUN, also directed members in the FCT Sharia Court of Appeal, FCT Customary Court of Appeal, National Industrial Court, Federal Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Council and the FCT Judicial Service Commission to join the strike.
NAN reports that the union members blocked the entrance to the FCT High Court, Maitama, as the courts were locked as at 9 a.m.
Lawyers, litigants and judiciary workers were prevented by security men from entering into the court’s premises.
NAN also observed that the Hilux Bus conveying inmates, including the accused policemen, from the Kuje Prison, in Abuja, was also disallowed from entering the court premises.
The FCT Chairman of the union, Mr Hassan Chindo, told NAN that the strike would be sustained until the union’s demands were met.
“This action will affect the smooth function of the courts, considering the volume of cases in the lower courts.
“The strike is all about financial and total independence of the Judiciary,” he said.
NAN recalls that on Friday, July 11, JUSUN ordered its members nationwide to begin an indefinite at the end of its emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee.
NAN further reports that the strike began, following the failure of state governments to implement a Federal High Court, Abuja, order in respect of financial autonomy of state judiciaries.
Other demands were failure of stakeholders to abide by the decision to set up a technical implementation committee of the FAAC meeting of June 17.
NAN further reports that a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola on Jan. 14 restrained the Federal Government and the 36 state governors from holding on to funds meant for the judiciary.
Ademola ruled that funds meant for the judiciary should rather be disbursed directly to the heads of court and not to the executive arm of government.
The suit was filed by JUSUN.
In the ruling, Ademola held that the practice of the executive disbursing funds to the judiciary was unconstitutional and also threatened the independence of the judiciary.
Relying on the provisions of sections 83(1), 212(3) and 162(9) of the constitution of as amended, Justice Ademola said the provisions were clear and straightforward and should therefore be complied with.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation and the states should act responsibly and promptly to avoid constitutional crisis in this country by ensuring financial autonomy for the judiciary,” he said.
He maintained that the era of the judiciary begging the executive for fund was over, stressing that the piecemeal allocation of funds through the states’ ministry of finance to the states’ judiciary was unconstitutional, un-procedural, cumbersome, null, void and should be stopped forthwith.
Ademola also issued an order compelling the defendants to comply with the provisions of sections 81(3), 212(3) and 162(9) of the 1999 Constitution as amended in the disbursement of funds to the heads of courts forthwith.
He, therefore, issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from committing any further breach of the aforesaid constitutional/statutory provisions.
While noting that both the National Assembly and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) enjoyed independence of funding , the judge said the same should be applied to the judiciary in accordance with the constitution. (NAN)