Legal practitioners in the Ministry of Justice, Ondo State, on Monday threatened to embark on strike over the refusal of the government to pay some of their allowances.
The lawyers, under the banner of the Legal Officers Association of Nigeria, stormed the office of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in Akure with placards, chanting different solidarity songs.
They explained that the hazard allowances approved for them as legal practitioners working with the state government were not being paid despite a series of letters to relevant authorities.
Mr Victor Falodun, leader of the protesting lawyers, said the adjudication of justice in many cases in the state might suffer due to the non-payment of their allowances.
He said, “Government has been promising to pay these allowances for a very long time but we feel their empty promises was enough.
“They have refused to release the funds approved for outfit/robe allowance since March 2020 and we keep getting all sorts of promises from the government.
“We are also tired of working as government counsels and not getting paid for our allowances as some of us take the commercial motorcycle to court every day because there are no vehicles.
“Just two out of the 17 vehicles refurbished in the Ministry of Justice were returned and this has further made life difficult for us to attend court cases.
“Aside from this, we are also saying legal poverty must end in this state as the state counsels are the least paid in the country if you do your findings very well.”
He added that the lawyers will no longer work as from Tuesday until their demands were met by the state government.
Mr Adekola Olawoye, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo, could not be reached when contacted by SaharaReporters for comments.
