Federal High Court Judges to Proceed on Vacation Amidst JUSUN Strike
- Nigerian Federal High Court judges are proceeding on vacation for two months at a critical time in the judiciary
- Interestingly, the judges' vacation comes two months after courts were shut down by union workers
- The move might stall so many cases one of which is the anticipated trial of Nnamdi Kanu among others
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FCT, Abuja - A report by Punch newspaper indicates that judges of the Federal High Court will commence their annual vacation on Monday, July 26, the date slated for the hearing of Nnamdi Kanu's case and last till Tuesday, September 17.
It is not sure if the start of the vacation will affect the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
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Notice for vacation official
A vacation notice was issued by the chief information officer of the Federal High Court, Catherine Christopher, in Abuja, on Monday, July 12.
It reads in part:
“The Federal High Court will proceed on its annual vacation for the Year 2021 from Monday the 26th day of July 2021 to Friday the 17th September 2021. The court resumes sitting on Monday the 20th of September, 2021.”
Vacation comes weeks after two months of industrial action
Meanwhile, Premium Times newspaper reports that the judges are going on vacation despite losing two months to an industrial action that paralysed the Nigerian judiciary earlier in the year and taking some rest during the period.
Interestingly, the latest vacation will last for another two months beginning in July.
Some courts in the country have already issued notices for the commencement of their judges’ 2021 annual vacation with more expected to follow suit before the end of the week.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that after several months of back and forth, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN)'s industrial action which began in April ended in June.
The union called off the strike on Wednesday, June 9, weeks after members of the group shut down courts across the country.
JUSUN took the decision after a long meeting with the National Judicial Council and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Before then, judicial workers in Lagos announce that they won't be part of the national strike by their colleagues across Nigeria.
The Lagos state chapter of the union resumed full duty in April despite warnings by the national body not to break away.
JUSUN Lagos chairman, Shobowale Kehinde insisted that some of its workers in the state will be allowed to resume partially to enable the courts to clear a backlog of important cases.
Source: Legit.ng