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The members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Abia State chapter, have alleged that the state government is planning to compress the judiciary under the executive arm, insisting that their ongoing strike is to protect judicial autonomy.
The judiciary workers also accused the Accountant General of Abia State, Njum Onyemenam, of allegedly withholding funds approved by Governor Alex Otti for the court session of former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Kalu Amah.
Abia State Chairman of JUSUN, Chinedu Ezeh, stated this on Monday at the Umuahia High Court complex while responding to the Abia State Government’s earlier challenge to his union to provide details of their consolidated salary payment table.
Ezeh, who said the Abia State Government failed to implement the contents of the June 14, 2023 agreement it entered into with JUSUN, advised the executive arm of the state government to allow the judiciary to enjoy autonomy as backed by the Nigerian Constitution.
He said the ongoing strike by his members was approved by the national headquarters of JUSUN and was communicated to the Abia State Government before the industrial action began.
Ezeh, who dismissed claims that his members are receiving leave allowance within their consolidated salary scheme, said that Level 5 Step 1 workers in the judiciary are paid N86,000 as monthly salary before tax, whereas other civil servants on the same level outside the judiciary receive a higher salary of N91,000 before tax.
He further said that Abia judiciary workers are not afraid of verification but insisted that such exercise should be carried out by the judiciary itself as an independent arm, not by an Abia State Government-hired consultant.
He lamented that the state government is withholding the March 2026 salaries of judiciary staff, claiming that the idea is to subject them to hunger and possibly force suspension of the strike.
“They already have our salary table and therefore should not be asking us to provide the salary table,” he said.
The Abia State JUSUN Chairman denied the state government’s accusations that the strike is affecting the verification of retired judiciary workers, arguing that the files of the retirees are already with the state government.
Strike: Judiciary workers accuse Abia govt of undermining judicial autonomy
