Concerned by the poor remuneration of judges at all levels, the Nigerian Bar Association has met with the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), over the need for the government to, without further delay, review the take-home pay of judicial officers.
It was gathered that the NBA’s committee on judiciary, led by the chairman, Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), visited the AGF a few days ago. The National Publicity Secretary, NBA, Akorede Lawal, who confirmed the visit, said the effort was in furtherance of the association’s commitment to improved welfare package for judicial officers.
Lawal had in a previous interview noted that the association planned to write to the AGF on the areas that required reforms in the sector on Fagbemi’s demand when the NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), and his team paid him a courtesy call after his inauguration as minister.
Lawal had said in a statement on August 19, “Fagbemi (SAN) expressed his appreciation to the NBA president and his team for the visit. He remarked that it gives him a lot of comfort knowing that he has the support of the bar. He then called upon the NBA president to present to the office of the attorney-general the NBA’s official position on law reforms and areas of improvement for the judiciary.”It was gathered that one of the areas the NBA wanted swift reforms was the “poor” remuneration of judges, among other issues.
Speaking further on the NBA’s latest meeting with the AGF on the issue, Lawal stated, “We have gone beyond the letter. The Judiciary Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, led by Mr Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), a few days ago met with the Attorney-General of the Federation on those concerns. A whole lot of work is going on formally and discussions are ongoing on how the executive can be part of the process.
“We have a very good relationship with the AGF and we have a lot of avenues to regularly engage with him on the administration of justice in Nigeria. The NBA president had taken the initiative even before it became a matter of public discourse. We have been in the vanguard of this advocacy since last year, and we submitted a memorandum to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission on the increment in judicial officers’ salaries and allowances.
“The NBA president chairs that committee of the NBA and we have already formally requested for about 300 per cent increase in the salaries and emoluments of judicial officers. The RMAFC peculiarly requested a memorandum from the NBA because of our campaign in this regard, and it was submitted last year. So, we have continued to engage them at different fora on the need to quicken that process.”
He said if political officer holders could be going home with huge salaries and allowances, judicial officers should not be deliberately pauperised. “In some countries, judicial officers and teachers are the best paid, but the reverse is what we have here,” he added.
Wale Babalakin (SAN) had said at the valedictory court session for an Appeal Court judge, Justice Fatimo Akinbami, that the condition of service of judges was a disgrace to senior lawyers. He noted that something had to be done to address the situation, saying the fight for a good condition of service could not be left for the judges alone.
“It is a personal disgrace for every senior lawyer that the job is not developing, while judges do not enjoy good conditions of service. We can’t leave the fight to the judges alone. We are all guilty of this neglect and we must find a way to make it better. In a system where judges cannot meet their needs effortlessly, it shows that the system is not helping the judiciary,” Babalakin stated.
Judges salaries revealed
Meanwhile, based on the data collated from a document obtained from the website of the RMAFC, the Chief Justice of Nigeria earns about N560,662.16 monthly, comprising his basic salary and some allowances, while some others were not disclosed. The sum includes N280,331.04 basic salary, N70,082.80 as personal assistant allowance, N140,165.52 as hardship allowance, and N70,082.80 as outfit allowance.
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