The justice system in Ondo State has been severely disrupted due to an indefinite strike by the Coalition of Magistrates, Presidents of Grade ‘A’ Customary Courts, and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ondo State chapter.

Mr. Jamiu Bamidele, a judicial worker, lamented on Tuesday that the strike has left hundreds of citizens stranded in overcrowded police cells and correctional facilities in Akure and other areas, deprived of the right to arraignment or bail.

The strike began last week after Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa failed to approve the judiciary’s financial autonomy. Workers also protested poor welfare and lack of government attention to their grievances.

Bamidele accused the state’s Attorney General, Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowumi Isaac, of undermining the judiciary by delaying approvals, altering disbursement protocols, and creating an illusion of budgetary constraints.

“It is state-sanctioned incarceration where the innocent are buried alive in a system that has ceased to breathe,” Bamidele said, describing the government’s actions as institutional vandalism.

He further stated that by denying the judiciary its constitutionally mandated financial autonomy, the state government is effectively waging a war against its own citizens.