The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday mandated its Committee on Judiciary,
Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate non-payment of all
entitlements of retired judicial officers who served states’ governments
across the country.
The committee was directed to report back within four weeks.
The mandate to the committee followed a motion by Sen. Chukwuka Utazi
(PDP-Enugu) at plenary in Abuja. The upper chamber also directed the
committee to review the laws impeding the harmonisation of the processes
and prompt payment of retirement benefits of all judicial officers in
the country.
It urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to harmonise the payment
of judicial officers to enable the council take up the responsibility
of effecting payment.
Presenting the motion, Utazi said that the retired Chief Judge of
Anambra, Justice Godwin Ononiba, had in December 2016, led 31 other
retired judges to sue the state governor for non-payment of their
entitlements.
He said that the suit was an indication of the plight of retired judicial officers, especially judges of state high courts.
“The Constitution deliberately placed the salaries of Federal and
State judicial officers as the first-line charge on the Consolidated
Revenue Fund as a way of securing the independence of the judiciary.
“It is disturbing that while salaries are routed through NJC,
retirement benefits of state judicial officers of superior courts of
record as recognised by Section 6 of the Constitution were left to
states.
“This has created a situation where retired state judges are left to
their fate as state governments rarely make payments as and when due,’’
he said.
The lawmaker said that it was expedient for the matter to be tackled
as part of the present administration’s anti-corruption drive.
He explained that addressing the matter would go a long way in
encouraging judicial officers to serve without the fear of being
abandoned upon retirement.
Contributing, other lawmakers said that it was disheartening for
judicial officers to invest their youthful age in serving the nation,
only to be denied their entitlements upon retirement.
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, put the motion to a voice vote and it was unanimously adopted
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