An Industrial Court in Abuja has ordered the Federal Government to increase the salaries of judges in the country.
Sebastian Hon, a senior advocate of Nigeria, filed the suit before the labour court to request that the pay of Nigerian judges be raised.
The national assembly and the National Judicial Council had tried unsuccessfully to settle the dispute outside of court.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the attorney-general of the federation were also joined as defendants.
Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who represented the claimant, Sebastine Hon, posited among other depositions that the current economic reality in the country requires that the salaries and allowances of the nation’s judges be urgently improved upon.
Mr Awomolo adopted the four processes he filed and urged the court to grant all the reliefs.
He said the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) directly involved refused to file any papers before the court.
The plaintiff sued the National Assembly as the 1st defendant, RMAFC as the 2nd defendant, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, as the 3rd defendant, and the National Judicial Council (NJC) as the 4th defendant.
While the NJC backed the suit, the National Assembly and the AGF opposed it. The RMAFC did not take a stance in the suit.
Kunle Adegoke, also a SAN, who represented the NJC, asked the court to grant all the prayers sought by the plaintiff.
Mr Adegoke recalled that the Nigerian government at reviewed judges’ salaries in 2008.
He pointed out that low wages had inflicted untold economic hardship on judicial officers in the country.
He Adegoke lamented that salaries judges’ salaries had been stagnant for over 14 years.
The National Assembly and the AGF opposed the suit on the grounds that the claimant lacks the right to institute the suit.
