The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, on Monday called on the Federal Government to urgently act to improve the welfare of judges.
BASIC FACTS
- The new NBA President has called for investment in the welfare of Judges.
- Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) spoke at Annual Legal year ceremony.
- Judges welfare has been on the front burner in recent weeks.
WHAT WE KNOW
The newly inaugurated NBA President Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), has called for a deliberate investment in the welfare of Judges.
The NBA President, Mr. Maikyau, made the call at the Annual Legal Year Ceremony of the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Decrying the poor working condition of the court and the welfare of justices, he urged the government “to deliberately invest in the welfare of Judges and Justices by strengthening the human capital within the justice sector and meeting all the infrastructural needs of the judiciary as a matter of urgency”.
The welfare of judges has been an issue for some time now and attracted national attention recently when justices of the Supreme raised the matter.
According to Maikyau, salaries and allowances of judges and justices in the country have remained the same since 2008 and that has had a negative impact on justice and justice delivery in the country.
The NBA President, who was concerned that none of the presidential candidates at the NBA conference held recently spoke about the judiciary, also emphasized the need for the judiciary to be truly independent and described as worrisome fact.
NOTABLE QUOTE
“none of the presidential candidates for the upcoming 2023 election, who attended the Opening Ceremony of the just concluded NBA-AGC on the 21st August 2022 spared any thought on the independence of the judiciary”.
“the Federal Government to revisit the 2018 Report of the Committee on the Review of Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service, to bring same in tune with our present-day realities and give effect to the final recommendations that will arise therefrom.”
“the government to deliberately invest in the welfare of Judges and Justices by strengthening the human capital within the justice sector and meeting all the infrastructural needs of the judiciary as a matter of urgency.”
CATCH-UP
Recall that the independence and welfare of the judiciary is something that has continued to elicit concerns.
The immediate past Chief Justice was accused by some Judges of the Supreme court of withholding their welfare.
TAKEAWAY
Indeed if justice must be guaranteed and not sold to the highest bidder, then the welfare of Judges and those who serve in the temple of justice must be well taken care of.
Welfare of Judges at all levels should not be left at the pleasure of politicians, otherwise, justice will be manipulated or risk been manipulated by the political class or any group with economic strength.
Hence, the call for investment in the welfare of Judges is indeed long overdue. Independence of the judiciary can hardly be achieved without financial autonomy.
The best way to guarantee financial autonomy for the judiciary is to take it away from the executive arm of government.
