FEDERAL Ministry of Justice law officers have suspended their warning strike embarked upon to press home their demands for improved staff welfare.

The suspended strike action witnessed picketing and shutting down the Ministry of Justice and the Chambers of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN.

National President, Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) Mr. Solomon Ibhadon had on Monday led other members of the association to the Ministry for the peaceful protest marking the flag-off of the 3-days warning strike for the implementation of the circular on harmonization and payment of peculiar allowances to law officers in the federal ministry of Justice.

LOAN President, Comrade Solomon Ibhadon, expressed solidarity with the striking workers, vowing that lawyers will continue to press for a uniform salary structure for law officers in the public service.

He stated that the President of the Nigerian Bar association (NBA) Augustine Alegeh SAN has intervened in the dispute, adding that credit should be given to the NBA boss for calling off the strike.

Apart from the chambers of the AGF, other business entities affected included the Access bank and the UBA Bank branches located within the justice ministry.

The protesting lawyers were carrying placards with various inscriptions.

Some of them read, “law officers are full of duties but dry in recompense”, “FGN implement the 1994 circular on harmonization”, “we handle volatile , high profile and complex cases at the risk of our lives give us hazard allowance”, “ Do unto us what you have done to University lecturers, doctors, Judicial Officers, Magistrates, etc,” and “ we demand harmonization and peculiar allowances FGN implement the 1994 circular on harmonization”

Chairman of the LOAN, Abuja, Comrade Yusuf Abdulkadir, said the strike was in furtherance of the association’s 21-day industrial action notice.

Abdulkadir, who is also the national vice president of the association, stated that his members held a series of meetings with the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, Head of Service, Danladi Kifasi and others but nothing came out of it.

He noted that though the discussions were a welcome development, “they turned out to be promises and did not translate into concrete agreements or approval of all or any of our demands.”

LOAN is asking the Federal Government to address grievances dating back more than 20 years which include the implementation of a circular issued by the Body of Attorneys-General in 1994 calling for enhanced salaries for law officers. The circular has already been implemented by some state governments across the country.

Click here to read from source.