Towards Resolving the Osun Judiciary Imbroglio

“The courts must be opened, for the discharge of their constitutional functions. In this regard, I humbly urge the Governor to dialogue with the Judiciary staff, in order to open the courts”

The Osun State Judiciary has been engulfed in a crisis for the past few months, occasioned by the interminable strike of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). The efforts of the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, to resolve the crisis appears not to have yielded much fruit, in this already seemingly intricate situation. Justice administration in the State is at a standstill, and the crippling effect of this is that all Osun State courts are under lock and key, and many are languishing in detention without trial. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, Lazarus Chinwokwu and Adesegun

Talabi, delve into the complexities of these issues, as they try to proffer solutions

Who Will Save Osun?

Osun State is in a quandary at the moment, nearing a total paralysis of governance, if the anomaly is not arrested urgently. In law, there are three levels of governance in every State in Nigeria, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. All the three arms must work together. The Legislature enacted the law that created the offices of the three arms, specifying their respective duties and obligations. The executive formulates policies and programmes for the government and the people, while the Judiciary acts as a check upon the exercise of the powers of State. Upon his election, the President is sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and upon his assumption of office, the President in turn proclaims the Legislature. The President appoints the Chief Justice and for the latter to properly assume office, his appointment has to be confirmed by the Senate and thereafter, he has to be sworn in by the President. What this simply means is that the three organs of government work together even though they are independent.

The Indispensability of the Judiciary

By virtue of Section 6(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, “the judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the Courts to which this section relates, being Courts established for the Federation”. Section 6(2) established courts for the States. By virtue of Section 6(6)(b), “the judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section shall extend to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person”.

In simple terms, the only body empowered to determine and adjudicate upon disputes, are the courts created by law. To extend judicial powers to cover all persons, government or authority means that in the eye of the Constitution, no one is above the law. The reason for this is to avoid a breakdown of law and order in the society, such that persons who are aggrieved over the actions or policies of others will have the opportunity of ventilating their grievances in a manner that follows due process of law. Even from the days of our forefathers, society has never existed without a forum for the settlement of disputes. I have laboured to imagine how Governor Ademola Adeleke is currently governing Osun State without the Judiciary. The contemplation of the Constitution is that no State in Nigeria can, or should be governed effectively without the judicial arm in full operation. Even when the military took power through coup d’etat, the courts were left intact. Rarely, in the history of our nation, have we had to contend with a situation whereby the courts are locked up perpetually, aside from a few exceptions like Rivers State during the tenure of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

Section 4(8) of the Constitution states thus:

“Save as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the exercise of legislative powers by the National Assembly or by a House of Assembly shall by subject to the jurisdiction of courts of law and of judicial tribunals established by law, and accordingly, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not enact any law, that ousts or purports to oust the jurisdiction of a court of law or of a judicial tribunal established by law.”

What the framers of the Constitution are saying is that, there shall be no dictatorship of any kind in governance. Laws made by the Legislature must always be subject to the jurisdiction of the Court, so, too, the actions of the executive. This is not the case in Osun State presently, because of the strike action