There have been much talk about the poor remuneration of judicial officers in Nigeria. As the watchmen of the last hope of the common man, judicial officers are bound to be impartial in their adjudicatory functions.

Appearing on Arise News to discuss pertinent issues that arose during the last Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, the Nigerian Bar Association’s president, also lamented the poor earnings of Nigerian judges.

It is a fact that the issue of inadequate salaries and wages is an ongoing conversation in Nigeria across key sectors.

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Despite the fact that the judges had been deliberately pauperised by successive governments, Maikyau argued, Nigeria’s judiciary was one of the most disciplined arms of government in the country.

He went on to claim that the judges earned a paltry pay considerably low compared to their workload and the expectations placed on them by the ethics of the job.

“The judiciary in this country is one of the most disciplined arms of government you can ever find anywhere and I say this this within the context of how the judiciary has been deliberately pauperised. The last time the salaries and allowances of judicial officers would be reviewed in this country was in 2007,” said Maikyau.

“As as I speak to you now, many also do not know the justices of the Supreme Court’s salary is a paltry sum of N750,000. The chief justice of Nigeria, before he assumed office, was receiving about that amount of money. So soon after he assumed the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, because according to the provision of the service, he would move into a residence provided for the Chief Justice of Nigeria, his salary dropped to about N450,000. All of these things are totally unacceptable.”

CLAIM: Supreme Court of Nigeria’s justices earn N750,000 monthly as salary while the CJN earns N450,000.

VERIFICATION: In the same interview, the NBA president mentioned that the salary structure for judicial officers was last reviewed in 2007.

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In Nigeria, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission determines how much public officers, including judicial officers, are paid. According to the commission’s Remuneration Package for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Feb., 2007 – June 2009) available on its website, the occupant of the office of the CJN earns below N300,000 a month.

Specifically, the basic salary of the CJN is N280,331. This is exclusive of N70,082 provided for his outfit monthly and provisions for his personal assistants. There are, however, some annual fringe benefits due to the occupant of the office. It is also important to state that the CJN is housed in an official residence. The value of the allowances are at least the same value as the salary.

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As a justice of the Supreme Court, he goes home monthly with a basic salary of the same amount as the CJN. This does not include a couple of annual allowances that cover entertainment, security, outfit, accommodation, furniture, among others.

CONCLUSION: The CJN as well as the justices of the Supreme Court earn below the N450,000 and N750,000 stated by the NBA president.

VERDICT: The claim that the CJN and the justices of the Supreme Court collect N450,0000 and N750,000 as monthly salary is false.