Senate passes bill to increase salaries of ALL judicial officers by 300%

The senate recently approved a bill aimed at boosting the salaries and benefits of judges across all tiers. This decision was made during the third reading of the bill on Wednesday, following a presentation by Mohammed Monguno, the head of the senate committee on judiciary.

The bill had initially been introduced in May and received support during its second reading after a request from President Bola Tinubu.

Should the house of representatives also approve the bill and it receives presidential assent, it will result in an annual salary increase for the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) to N64 million.

The judicial officers will receive a substantial raise, with their new salaries and benefits being three times higher than their current earnings.

The president of the court of appeal is set to earn N62.4 million, while justices of the supreme court will receive N61.4 million.

Additionally, all heads of different courts, including the chief judge of the federal high court, the president of the national industrial court, and the chief judge of the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, among others, will have an equal annual basic salary of N7.9 million.

During his report presentation, Monguno emphasized the urgent need to raise judges’ salaries and allowances, highlighting that their compensation had remained stagnant for years.

In addition to the proposed salary adjustments, he mentioned that the bill would address the retirement benefits of judicial officers.

The Borno senator asserted that these enhanced pay structures would promote equity and integrity within the nation’s legal system. Subsequently, the senate endorsed key aspects of the bill during deliberations and successfully enacted it into law.