Abubakar Malami, the immediate past attorney-general of the
federation (AGF), advised former President Muhammadu Buhari to decline assent
to the bill on uniform retirement age for judicial officers.
TheCable reports that Malami told the former president that
approval of the bill would create a “huge financial and unexpected burden” for
the federal government.
On May 2, the national assembly directed Amos Ojo, its
clerk, to transmit the bill to Buhari for assent.
The proposed alteration was entitled ‘Constitution of The
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Altercation) (No.37) Bill, 2023’.
The constitutional bill seeks to extend the retirement age
of high court judges — and others — from 65 to 70 years.
The retirement age of justices of the appeal and supreme
courts is already pegged at 70.
The bill also seeks to ensure uniformity in the pension
rights of judicial officers of “superior courts of record” specified in section
6(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
The courts listed in section 6(5) are the supreme court,
court of appeal, federal high court, high court of Abuja, high courts of
states, sharia court of appeal, national industrial court, and customary courts
of appeal, among others.
MALAMI’S MEMO TO
BUHARI
In a memo dated May 23 and addressed to the office of the
chief of staff to the president, Malami said the bill appears to be
“far-reaching, unduly wide, ambiguous”, adding that it made no “justification”
for the extension of retirement age and benefits for judges.
Malami averred that the bill would lead to stagnation in the
career growth of judges, adding that “those currently on the bench would have
to stay longer, preventing others from being elevated in higher courts”.
The former AGF said the bill, if approved, may lead to
further agitation for the extension of the retirement age of justices of the
supreme court and court of appeal.
“Accordingly, the federal government enacted the Federal
Judicial Officers (Administration of Pension) Act 2007, which transferred the
responsibility and administration of pension of the federal judicial officers
from the department of establishments in the office of the head of service of
the federation to the National Judicial Council,” Malami wrote in the memo.
“Similarly, State Governments are responsible for the
pension of judicial officers in the state courts of record.
“These provisions are now being amended by the fifth
alteration which now restricts the power of the federal government to make law
with respect to Judicial Officers who retire after the age of 65.
“Regardless of extant
economic realities of the federal government, by virtue of the fifth
alteration, all judges who retire after attaining 65 years of age would be
entitled to payment of their salaries for life, including all allowances in
addition to any other benefit to which they may be entitled.
“By virtue of the constitution, the only persons entitled to
payment of their last salaries for life as pension are the President,
Vice-President and Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. In the
case of the latter, it’s only applicable if the justices retire at or after the
age of 65 and have spent not less than 15 years.”
Malami added that the proposed alteration of the
constitution also eliminated the “responsibility of states to pay these altered
retirement benefits”.
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Malami uhmmm!!!!!
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