An industrial high court in Abuja has ordered the upward
review of judges’ salaries.
Sebastian Hon, senior advocate of Nigeria, filed the suit
before the labour court to request that the pay of Nigerian judges be raised.
The national assembly and the National Judicial Council had
tried unsuccessfully to settle the dispute out of court.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
(RMAFC) and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) were joined as
defendants.
Adegboyega Awomolo, counsel to the claimant, in his final
address submitted that the salaries and allowances of judicial officers remain
unchanged since 2008.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae
said salaries of judges and justices have been stagnated for over 14 years.
She held that despite the increased workload on judicial
officers, they have continued to suffer in penury owing to their “extremely low
salaries and allowances”, which the court described as “very embarrassing”.
“There is no doubt
that from evidence adduced before this court that salaries payable to judges as
well as their conditions of service, has been greatly altered to their
disadvantage,” she held.
“Judicial officers are daily impoverished by the devaluation
of the naira.
“They have suffered financial hardship and embarrassment
owing to their poor pay. It is a shame to the country.
“In spite of this, our judges have continued to carry out
their statutory duties.
“Justices are
themselves victims of a great injustice. What an irony.”
Consequently, she ordered the federal government to commence
a monthly payment of N10 million to the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) while
that of the president of the court of appeal was raised to N9 million.
Court of appeal justices, chief judges, president of the
industrial court, grand khadis and president of customary courts are now to
earn N8 million while other judges’ salary was raised to N7 million.
The court directed that the order should be served on the
RMAFC and the AGF.
The judge also awarded N1.5 million fine against RMAFC, the
AGF and the national assembly.
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