The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday struck out an application filed by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria against the Edo State Government over an alleged withholding of the seven months salaries of judiciary workers in 2014 and 2015.

Justice Okon Aban, in a ruling, stated that the ex parte application filed by the union failed to disclose the exact amount that the union was targeting in the nine bank accounts of the Edo State Government supplied in the application.

He also held that issuing the garnishee order nisi, which implies freezing the accounts, as requested by the union, could cripple the state.

He also questioned the motive behind of the application coming at the time of governorship electioneering in the state.

“It is ill-motivated because the judgment of this court can still be enforced even after the election in Edo State,” the judge ruled.

The union, had filed its motion ex parte for the recovery of the unpaid judiciary workers’ salaries for July 2014 and January to June 2015 in Edo State.

It urged the court to make an order garnisheeing “the money belonging to the Edo State Government” in nine listed bank accounts, “to satisfy” the government’s debt in the January 13, 2014 judgment.

But Justice Abang refused to grant the application, but adjourned till September 30 for the hearing of similar application against some other states.