President Bola Tinubu on August 9, 2024 signed the Judicial Office Holders’ Salaries and Allowances) Bill, 2024 into law.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in March 2024 and later passed by the Senate in June 2024.
The bill increases the salaries of judicial officers of superior courts of record listed in the Nigerian Constitution. It also amends the provisions of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances) Act 2002 to delete the provisions relating to judicial office holders.
The new salaries and allowances take effect from January 1, 2024, as their provisions were already captured in the 2024 appropriation. The new law allows the Chief Justice of Nigeria to take home N64 million annually and N5.39 million monthly.
Other justices of the Supreme Court however take home N5, 046,308 monthly. While the President of the Court of Appeal takes home N5, 211,541 monthly, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, President of the National Industrial Court; Chief Judge of FCT High Court; Grand Kadi of FCT Sharia Court of Appeal; President of the FCT Customary Court of Appeal; Chief Judge of State High Court; Grand Kadi of State Sharia Court of Appeal and President of the State Customary Court of Appeal, take home N4, 192,597 monthly.
Other judges in the various trial courts however take home a monthly total package of N3, 671,272.84.
The payment of judicial officers in Nigeria was last reviewed 16 years ago.
The advocacy for the independence of the Judiciary has often involved calls for financial autonomy for this arm of government, as well as improved remuneration for judicial officers.
President Tinubu had promised to review the remuneration of judges as part of efforts to tackle corruption in the judiciary during the visit of the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association to the State House in August 2023.
This action by the president has earned him accolades from many quarters of the Nigerian society and even beyond, especially coming after a very long time of complaints, protest and even court cases.
The Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances) Bill, 2024 is a welcome development that can go a long way to enhance the welfare of judicial officers and strengthen the independence of the Judiciary.
In June 2023, President Tinubu also signed another Constitution alteration bill which provides a unified retirement age for all judicial officers of superior courts of record.
It further provides that all pensions, allowances and other retirement benefits of judicial officers shall be charged to the Consolidated Revenue fund of the Federation and paid directly by the National Judicial Council.
This is to address the status quo where payment of retirement benefits of state judges is left to the state governments to handle, and in many cases, these retirement benefits are owed or delayed by the states.
The implementation of all the legal provisions geared at improving the independence of the judiciary, with the addition of the new rates of emoluments for judicial officers will be highly beneficial in strengthening the Nigerian judiciary.
Judges have contributed immensely to the stability of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The system of appointing judges should be reformed and made more transparent and rigorous, so that only those who merit such appointments in terms of character and learning are appointed.”
They deserve a decent pay and reasonable working conditions as the new pay would definitely spur judges at all levels to begin to give their all in the service of humanity and the country at large.
The increase will enhance their efficiency because when a man is well paid, the motivation to put in his best will be there. When a man is not thinking of where the next meal will come from, he will be energized, when a man lives in a comfortable environment, he will give his best, and he can put a roof over his head.
However, as good as this gesture may seem, it alone cannot tackle the issue of corruption which is the alleged bane of the country’s judiciary.
Enhancing the welfare of judicial officers without putting other measures in place cannot bring about desired efficiency or make the sector more effective.
Whether the improvement in salary will bring about greater productivity and efficiency depends on a host of factors.
The availability of sound leadership by the head of the judiciary to provide improved oversight, monitoring and evaluation of the work of judges is very crucial.
Speaking on Friday at the swearing in ceremony of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, President Tinubu urged her to defend the independence of the judiciary and promote the cause of justice.
The President emphasized the importance of strengthening mechanisms that will uphold and enhance integrity, discipline, and transparency in the judiciary.
Consequently, the acting CJN also pledged to elevate the judiciary to new heights, improve its reputation, and sustain public confidence in the judicial system.
There are many judges who will do the right thing on their own but also there are many who need to be monitored.
The NJC and the heads of courts must set up clear guidelines for improved judicial oversight, quality control and accountability.
The NJC needs to establish a strong task force consisting of retired judges, experienced legal practitioners and civil society activists to create a system of monitoring judicial performance right from the level of the Supreme Court to the lowest courts.
The enhanced salary structure must be counter- balanced with new measures for higher productivity, oversight and accountability without undue interference with judicial independence.
Furthermore, the working conditions and environment also must be improved to enable the judges to function well.
This includes the registries and the administrative support system of the courts. Improving salaries alone is not enough. Much more needs to be done.
Any judge who is guilty of abuse of office by collecting bribes must be shown the way out, prosecuted, and not merely retired to go and enjoy the illicit gains of his or her corrupt practices.
The NBA at all levels must constitute a strong watchdog system to periodically provide confidential reports to the NJC on judges, so as to uproot lazy and corrupt judges from the system.
Also, the system of appointing judges should be reformed and made more transparent and rigorous, so that only those who merit such appointments in terms of character and learning are appointed.
In the long run, the NJC needs to be reconfigured. The Constitution must be amended to restructure the NJC.
The office of the CJN as presently structured is too powerful. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The Federal Judicial Service Commission and the NJC should not be headed by the same person who appoints the greater majority of the members of the NJC.
Generally speaking, this increase will greatly reduce the alleged corruption in the judiciary, the take home pay will reduce the temptation to take bribes to pervert justice, and going forward, the judiciary will be good for it.
We appeal to our Judges to reciprocate this gesture in doubling their efforts towards efficient and speedy justice delivery.
