The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has expressed concern over the long-standing neglect of judiciary officers’ remuneration, which has remained stagnant for nearly 17 years. This situation, he emphasized, hinders meaningful judicial reform.
Fagbemi made this statement during a public hearing on Monday, addressing the Senate committee on Judiciary, human rights, and legal matters. The hearing focused on a bill aimed at prescribing salaries, allowances, and fringe benefits for judicial office holders in Nigeria.
The Minister highlighted that between May 1999 and March 2011, the Federal Government reviewed the salaries and allowances of public servants and political office holders four times. However, judicial officers’ salaries were only reviewed twice during the same period.
President of the Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Benedict Kanyip, proposed a 4-year periodic review of judicial officers’ salaries to address the issue. Meanwhile, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, emphasized that salaries and welfare are not the only critical issues. She stressed that the high cost of operations poses a significant challenge, which may lead to shutting down some courts due to inadequate budgetary provisions.
The Senate committee is expected to continue deliberations on the bill to address the long-standing issue of judicial officers’ remuneration.
