Lagos — The strike embarked upon by members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JSUN) hit the judiciary hard yesterday.

It stalled the continuation of hearing of petitions at the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja.

The petitions were filed by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate in the April 21 presidential poll, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and his Action Congress (AC) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, against President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's victory in the election.

Thus, the adoption of final addresses in the consolidated petition of Atiku and Buhari could not be taken and judgment date could not be fixed.

The strike also stalled hopes for bail for former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori.

Buhari and Atiku had petitioned the tribunal praying for the nullification of the April 21, 2007 presidential election.

The workers who staged a peaceful protest at the Court of Appeal premises of the tribunal said they would not call off the strike unless the Federal Government addressed their grievances.

JSUN's Vice-President, South-east, Mr. Lambert Onuoha, who led the protest, said the workers had been agitating for increased salary for the past three years and could not understand why government had refused to meet their demands.

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Aondoakaa, who was present at the court premises, said he would meet the Secretary to the Government of Federation and the Chief Justice of the Federation who is the chairman of the National Judicial Council responsible for judicial staff salaries and allowances on how to solve the workers' problem.

In Kaduna, the strike led to the postponement of the scheduled ruling on the bail application of Ibori, by the Kaduna Division of the Federal High Court.

The ruling was subsequently postponed indefinitely until, according to the trial judge, Mr. Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu, "when the situation improves."

Justice Shuaibu had after taking arguments in favour and against Ibori's bail application on January 11, 2008 fixed ruling on the request for Thursday, January 31, 2008, but had to reschedule it for yesterday following his indisposition on that day.

The judge was reported to be attending the All Judges Seminar in Abuja.

As early as 6.30 am yesterday, lawyers, journalists, Ibori's supporters and other stakeholders had besieged the court hoping that the ruling would take place only to be locked out of the court premises by the JASU members.

Ibori and four others are standing trial at the court on a 129-count charge of money laundering and stealing.

In Ondo State, the striking workers allowed the Election Petitions Tribunal in Akure to sit, but some of the witnesses who were billed to testify at one of the two tribunals were driven out by the workers as early as 8am.

Members of the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, were prevented from entering the courtroom as the workers locked the doors.

However, in an attempt to stave off the strike from affecting the tribunal, armed policemen clashed with the striking judicial workers, as the policemen insisted that the workers should not lock the main gates leading to the court premises.

In Lagos State, activities at the magistrate's and high courts both in Ikeja and Ikoyi were paralysed as the striking workers locked the gates to the premises.

However, the Federal courts were not affected by the industrial action as the workers were seen at their desks.

Courts and Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, were also closed down by the state judicial workers.

Appeals by state Chief Judge, Justice Fasasi Ogunsola, to the workers to resume for duties to allow proceedings in the courts to commence were disobeyed.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJ), Justice Legbo Kutigi, has said that the demands of the striking judicial workers are unrealistic.

The CJN spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He said there could not be uniform salary structure for the judicial officers and staff except there was an amendment to the 1999 Constitution.

Kutigi, who spoke through the Supreme Court Chief Registrar (CR), Alhaji Usman Musale, described as "wrong and unfortunate" the nationwide strike embarked upon by the workers.

"No notice was given before the strike. We just woke up this morning, coming to the office and found the gates barricaded by the striking junior members of the courts.

"Supreme Court has not, in history witnessed this kind of embarrassing and unfortunate situation," he said.

The CR said the striking workers had no right to disrupt the business of the court by barricading the court entrance.

"They have the right to withdraw their services, but they do not have the right to lock up the gates and prevent us from entering," he said.

"The National Judicial Council (NJC) cannot implement a uniform salary structure for the judicial officers and workers without an amendment to the 1999 Constitution," he said.

Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution, Musale said, gives power to NJC to pay salaries of judicial officers at the federal and state levels.

"NJC pays salaries of the judges and chief registrars of the Federal and state high courts.

"This also include judges of the Customary Court of Appeal and the Sharia Court of Appeal," he noted.

He said the states' Judicial Service Commission, by law, are responsible for the payment of wages of supporting and junior staff in the states' judiciary.

"Section 121 of the constitution says that money for the state judiciary should be disbursed directly to the heads of court in the states for this purpose," he said.

Musale lamented that most of the state governors were not giving effect to the provision of the constitution.

"Salaries are paid by the state governments, and this is responsible for the disparities," he said.

"The option left for the workers is to sponsor a bill in the National Assembly, for an amendment of the constitution but not to go on strike," he said.

All courts in the FCT were put under lock and key by the striking workers while judicial activities came to a halt.

The National President of JSUN, Mr Usamatu Badawin, said they were protesting the non-implementation of recommended pay rise for judicial workers.

He also said that the union is demanding a uniform salary structure for all judicial staff in both federal and state services.

"In 2006 a Presidential Commission on the Reform of Justice Sectors headed by Justice Olufemi Ejiwumi recommended the pay rise for the judicial workers, the Police and the workers of the Nigeria Prisons Service," he said.

"The pay rise has been implemented by the police and the Prisons Service. We are the only body left out to suffer," he added.