A National Industrial Court in Abuja has ordered the Federal Government to review the salaries and allowances of the judicial officers in Nigeria, the PUNCH reported.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae gave the order on Friday, saying the current salaries and allowances of judicial officers in the country are abysmally low and embarrassing.
Sebastine Hon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had filed a suit against the Federal Government in the National Industrial Court.
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Obaseki-Osaghae ordered the Federal Government to commence a monthly payment of N10 million to the Chief Justice of Nigeria. He also ordered the government to pay N9 million to the justices of the Supreme Court and the President of Court of Appeal.
The court ordered the payment of N8 million to justices of the appellate court and the chief judges of federal and state High Courts. The court also wants judges of the federal and state High Courts to receive N7 million monthly.
According to Obaseki-Osaghae, the refusal of the government to review the salaries and allowances of judicial officers for 14 years is unconstitutional.
Nine months ago, Luke Onofiok, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, moved a motion to dismiss the current salaries paid to judicial officers.
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“The house notes that the salary of judicial officers was last reviewed by the RMAFC in 2007 when the official exchange rate was N124 to $1 and the minimum wage was N5,000,” Onofiok told the House of Representatives in October 2021.
“Considering the economic factors that have depreciated the value of the naira by over 60 percent, the salary of judicial officers have become totally at variance with current economic realities.
“Thirteen years after the salary review, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is the most senior judicial officer in the country, earns N279,497 monthly. Justices of the Supreme Court and the President of the Court of Appeal earn N206,425 monthly. Justices of the Court of Appeal earn N206,425 monthly.”
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