It does appear that after what was a long battle, judges in Nigeria are finally set for an upward review of their basic salaries and allowances.
It was in July that the National Industrial Court in a historic judgement which lamented the fact that the salaries of judges had not been reviewed for all of fourteen years ordered the National Assembly,the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC),the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the National Judicial Council to ensure immediate upward review of the salaries of judges in the country.
The decision of the court had been handed down after a team of lawyers filed an action seeking some reliefs in a bid to improve the welfare of those who serve the country as judicial officers.
A criminal underpayment
Indeed,it was an aberration which bordered on the criminal that for so long Nigerian judges were paid pittance for the difficult jobs they do under even more difficult circumstances. As the national industrial court found, this reprehensible underpayment was most underlined by the fact that the salaries of the judges had not been reviewed in fourteen years.
A underfunded arm of government
Nigeria professes a federal system of government and since 1999 it has sought to practice same under the salubrious shade of democracy.
In Nigeria,the government consists of three arms being the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
While the legislature which in Nigeria is represented by the National Assembly makes laws for the country,the executive enforces the laws made, and the judiciary interprets the laws and adjudicates when there is a dispute.
Nigeria’s electoral democracy has largely been defined by the recurrent friction between the three arms of government which always shuffle between cordiality and outright hostility.
The principle of checks and balances which is one of democracy’s most prominent features requires that the three arms of government keep each other honest.
The friction has been especially pronounced between the legislature and the executive while the judiciary has always prefers to remain in the background and await disputes to be brought before it in a tradition that is as ancient as it is apposite.
The experience of the judiciary in Nigeria has largely been one of underfunding even when the courts have shown heroic courage to hand down era-defining judgments.
In one of the most unsightly instances of the failure of governance in Nigeria, financial autonomy for the judiciary is still not guaranteed with some members of the executive and legislature apparently content with seeing the judiciary beg cap in hand for funds maybe as a tool of control to ultimately ensure that judicial independence remains a myth.
Nigeria is in an election season so maybe it makes sense that President Muhammadu Buhari recently ordered full compliance with the enhanced salary and welfare scheme for judicial officers nationwide as ordered by the National Industrial Court.
It is long overdue that the salaries of judges in the country be reviewed in the light of the critical roles they play in keeping the mechanics of democracy working properly.
Now that their salaries are about to be reviewed in what may only be an election gimmick, the authorities may also want to look at upgrading the infrastructure available to the judiciary as a whole.
There is no doubt that better pay and facilities for those who administer justice all over the country will rub off positively on the administration of justice and the easy access Nigerians deserve to courts of law no matter their status or circumstances.
Kene Obiezu,
Twitter: @keneobiezu
