The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has said that improved salaries and allowances for judges and other judicial officers was a step towards judicial independence in the country.

Fagbemi stated this on Monday in Abuja in his address at a public hearing on “A Bill for an Act to Prescribe the Salaries and Allowances and Fringe Benefits of Judicial Office Holders in Nigeria and Related Matters Bill 2024,” organised by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the upward review of judges and other judicial officers’ salaries has become imperative given the inflationary trends being experienced in the country in the past few years.

He said, “This bill will birth an appropriate and commensurate remuneration that will ensure judicial independence and integrity.

“Sometime in July 2023, the National Judicial Council forwarded a Proposed Review of Consolidated Salaries and Allowances for Judicial Officers for consideration by the President. The NJC proposal was the revision of the remuneration package earlier proposed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission which was not consummated before the end of the previous administration.”