The Nigerian Bar Association has demanded for the immediate appointment of Supreme Court Justices to fill the vacancies that exists in the apex court bench.
The NBA’s demand was part of its reaction to the retirement of Justice Amina Augie from the apex court.
The NBA though its national President , Yakubu Maikyau, SAN equally commiserated with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola,his brother Justices and staff of the Supreme Court over the fire incident at the Supreme Court complex on Monday.
According to the NBA President, via a statement issued by Bar’s national Publicity Secretary , Akorede Habeeb, “the incident which reportedly affected the chambers of some Justices call into question the integrity and safety of courts’ infrastructures in Nigeria.
“The NBA has therefore called for an investigation into the incident to forestall future recurrence”.
The NBA in the statement also demanded for the immediate appointment of additional Justices to achieve the full complement of 21 Justices of the Supreme Court, as prescribed by Section 230(1 )(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The NBA however expressed concerns that the exit of Justice Augie from the Bench of the Supreme Court stating that it has further reduced the number of Justices of this Court, with the attendant increase in the workload of the already overworked/overburdened and, unfortunately, poorly remunerated justices.
The Bar noted that it has become imperative that the Nigerian Constitution be amended to increase the threshold for the number of justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court and to reduce the number of matters that get to the Supreme Court by limiting the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to certain constitutional matters.
Giving update about the NBA’s engagement with the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the remuneration of judicial officers, the NBA President stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has directed a presidential working group to harmonise the recommendations from RMAFC, NBA and NJC, with the view to include the outcome in the 2024 budget appropriation.
He added that the NBA has also proposed a new set of allowances in recognition of the peculiar demands of judicial office holders which include: Lifestyle Allowance, Dual Responsibility Allowance, Frequent Transfer Allowance and Long Service Allowance.
He further noted that the NBA has recommended the delinking of judicial remuneration from that of the civil service, in order to strengthen the perception of judicial independence and to provide the necessary safeguard and reassurance to judicial officers.
