Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for approving the Judicial Office Holders Salaries and Allowances Bill, 2024.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Fagbemi described the approval as significant and acknowledged that the ongoing request from judicial officers nationwide for better working conditions has finally been met.
He expressed concern that judicial officers in Nigeria have been receiving the same salary for almost twenty years.
Fagbemi stated, “President Tinubu has consistently shown his dedication to the sustainable reform of the justice system. This is a crucial aspect of that reform. The reassessment of judicial salaries is a vital initial step in creating a judicial system that serves the interests of all Nigerians.
“Moving forward, my ministry will collaborate with justice sector stakeholders to identify and tackle other issues aimed at strengthening the judiciary.
“I extend my sincere gratitude to the 10th National Assembly for their dedication to the judiciary and judicial officers in Nigeria, as demonstrated by their prompt passing of the bill.”
Earlier today, Senator Basheer Lado, the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, confirmed in a statement that President Tinubu has signed the Judicial Office Holders Salaries and Allowances Bill into law.
The new law raises the yearly earnings of the CJN to N64 million, the President of the Court of Appeal to N62.4 million, while the Chief Judges of the Federal High Courts, Chief Judges of all the State High Courts, and the President of the National Industrial Court will earn a basic salary of N7.9m annually.
The signing of the law comes after the National Assembly approved a 300% salary increase for judicial officers at both federal and state levels in June.