President Bola Tinubu has promised to review the pay of Nigerian judges.
Mr. Tinubu made the pledge while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (nba) on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the government would evaluate the salary templates for judicial officers.
The NBA delegation was headed by association president Yakubu Maikyau, senior defenseman for Nigeria (SAN), presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement on Friday.
The president, according to the statement, pointed out that the fight against corruption requires “an exhaustive review of the salaries and benefits of judicial officials.”
He promised that his administration would complete a comprehensive review of the payroll of the country’s judicial officers.
Recalling Tinubu’s justice sector reforms in Lagos state as governor, Ngelale said the president was familiar with the issue of judges’ welfare “given his historical success in reforming the administration of justice in Lagos state “.
“We must address the pay review if we really want to fight corruption in the judiciary. We will examine both the cost and the consequences,” the president said in response to a request from Mr Maikyau.
Speaking about the existing vacancies in the Nigerian Supreme Court, Tinubu acknowledged the need for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to recommend candidates for such positions.
“Most of them are now on vacation and when they return, we will see what they have and fill the vacancies. It is the fulfillment of an obligation,” she stated.
The President praised the NBA for inviting him to declare the association’s 63rd Annual General Conference open this weekend in Abuja.
In his remarks, Maikyau praised the president for appointing distinguished lawyers to his cabinet, including Lateef Fagbemi, a SAN as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Background
The issue of poor judge pay has dominated public discourse and stakeholders have called for it to be revised upwards.
In July 2022, the Nigerian National Labor Court (NICN) in Abuja ordered a substantial increase in the salaries of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and other Nigerian judges.
The trial judge, Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, said that “judges have been the victims of a great injustice” and described their low salaries as a “national shame”.
Nigerian judges’ salaries have remained stagnant since 2008, when they were last reviewed.
On the subject of vacancies on the Supreme Court, Newslodge reported that the number of its justices has dropped to 13 since August of last year.
The court is barely getting along amid an increasing caseload that is incessantly bloated with all kinds of appeals coming from all parts of the country.
In September last year, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, lamented how the plummeting number of judges was increasing the court’s workload.
Mr. Ariwoola, as Chief Justice, has now, in accordance with practice, sent notices to the higher-ups of the legal profession to nominate candidates to fill available positions on the court.
The number of Supreme Court justices has been severely depleted due to deaths and retirements of justices.
Editing: Adeyemi Adesomoju, Tosin Omoniyi
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