WELCOME TO MY BLOG TODAY.
Since 2nd January, 2015, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has embarked on an indefinite strike  over non-compliance by the governments of the states of the federation with the order of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, delivered on 13th January, 2014, ordering the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from the Consolidated Revenue Fund the amount standing to the credit of the judiciaries of their states so that they can be independent of their states governments.For political reasons, I want to be silent on which governments in the country have complied with this order of the court and which ones have not.That is not the business of this post.
The reality of this prolonged industrial action by the Judiciary workers in the affected states is that lawyers and litigants are the ones that bear the brunt.Lawyers in private practice, for instance , do not have any means of being indemnified against the loss  of earnings they are facing in this period they are being denied access to their constituency( that is, the period they are out of job since they cannot get to court).The Nigerian Bar Association does not have any arrangement in place for the welfare of its members especially in this trying period.This is just to say the least about the agony private lawyers are passing through as a result of the on-going JUSUN strike in their states.
On the side of litigants, it is equally disturbing.Their matters cannot go on in court due to the strike.Detained criminal suspects whose application for bail had been granted but only needed to be perfected when the strike started are languishing in detention now with no date of their freedom in sight.
Enough of this lamentation before I go too far.The gist for this morning lies in the need for Nigerian litigants to begin to explore the option of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (A.D.R.).It is high time we embraced change in our orientation about litigation in Nigeria.Nigerian litigants seem not to have confidence in the A.D.R.To correct the general impression about the A.D.R., simply put,it is a process of settling disputes  other than the adversarial method.The adversarial method, which is the normal court process of litigation, can be hostile, time-wasting and counter-productive just as it is the case with the effect of the on-going JUSUN strike on litigation in the affected states.It should be noted that hearing of cases in the A.D.R. process is presided over by an arbitrator whose verdict binds the parties that have submitted themselves to arbitration.An arbitrator can be described as a private judge who adjudicates on civil matters just as a judge in the federal or a state Judiciary presides over civil suits that come before him for adjudication.However, there is a caveat to this hint.It is that arbitrators have not assumed criminal jurisdiction in Nigeria and they cannot be heard hearing criminal matters.That is exclusively for the Judiciary either at the federal or the state level.Therefore, my hint is not for those in custody as criminal suspects.


So, friends let us promote A.D.R.It is the only way lawyers and litigants can stop being at the mercy of Judiciary workers. Have a nice day!