Judiciary activities in Benue State have remained paralysed for over a month due to an indefinite strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). 

Our correspondent recalled that JUSUN began its strike earlier in December last year after they alleged the state government left them out of the implementation of new minimum wage.

The courts as at Tuesday remained under locks with numerous cases left unattended to as the strike brought judicial operations in the state to a standstill.

JUSUN Secretary, Terna Jooli, criticised the government for failing to pay peculiar allowances and implement the new minimum wage introduced in November 2024.

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He told journalists in Makurdi, that, “There was an agreement in 2010 that the government has refused to honour. Instead, they claim they can only pay N45,000 for levels 1–6 and N65,000 for levels 7 and above.”

Jooli further decried the lack of dialogue, stating, “We have not received the new minimum wage since November, and the government is not engaging us in any discussions.”

Meanwhile, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Barr. Fidelis Mnyim, did not respond to calls put through to his telephone by our correspondent up till the time of filing this report.

But, Dr. Agbogbo Ode, the State Head of Service, recently told journalists in Makurdi that the issue was due to delays by the Ministry of Justice in providing necessary information.

He had explained that all workers, including those in the judiciary, were included in the new wage structure, which became effective in November but that the delay in the judiciary’s implementation was caused by their late submission of necessary requests.

Ode added that the judiciary workers’ failure to resolve disagreements with the technical committee over figures contributed to the delay.