President Bola Tinubu has promised to review Nigerian judges’ remuneration.
Mr Tinubu made the promise while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the government would assess the templates for salaries of judicial officers.
The NBA delegation was led by the association’s president, Yakubu Maikyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said in a statement on Friday.
The president, according to the statement noted that the fight against corruption necessitates “a comprehensive review of the salaries and allowances of judicial officers”.
He promised that his administration would conclude a thorough review of the remuneration templates of judicial officers in the country.
Recalling Mr Tinubu’s justice sector reforms in Lagos State as governor, Mr Ngelale said the president was conversant with the issue of judges’ welfare “given his landmark success in reforming justice administration in Lagos State.”
“We must deal with the review of remuneration if we truly want to fight corruption in the judiciary. We will look at the cost as well as the consequences,” the president said in response to a request by Mr Maikyau.
Speaking on the existing vacancies at Nigeria’s Supreme Court, Mr Tinubu acknowledged the need for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to recommend candidates for the roles.
“Majority of them are on holiday now and when they return, we will take a look at what they have and we will fill the vacancies. It’s a fulfillment of an obligation,” he said.
The President lauded the NBA for inviting him to declare open the association’s 63rd Annual General Conference this weekend in Abuja.
In his remarks, Mr Maikyau commended the president for appointing distinguished lawyers into his cabinet, including Lateef Fagbemi, a SAN as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Background
The issue of poor remuneration for judges has dominated public discourse, with stakeholders calling for its upward review.
In July 2022, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja ordered a substantial increment in the salaries of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and other Nigerian judges.
The trial judge, Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, said “judges have been victims of great injustice” describing their poor salaries as a “national shame”.
The salaries of Nigerian judges have remained stagnant since 2008 when they were last reviewed.
On the issue of vacancies at the Supreme Court, PREMIUM TIMES reported the rank of its judges reduced to 13 since August last year.
The court is barely getting along amid a mounting workload that is endlessly swollen with all kinds of appeals originating from all parts of the country.
In September last year, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, lamented how the plummeting number of justices was adding to the court’s workload.
Mr Ariwoola, as the head of the Supreme Court, has now, in line with practice, sent notices to the top brass of the legal profession to nominate candidates to fill available slots on the court’s bench.
The Supreme Court’s bench had been severely depleted owing to deaths and retirement of Justices.
