In a recent interview with ARISE News on Sunday, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, praised the discipline exhibited within Nigeria’s judiciary.
He highlighted some lesser-known facts, revealing that the salaries of Supreme Court justices have remained at ₦750,000 since their last pay review in 2007. Even the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s salary dropped to ₦450,000 after taking office, as he moved into a residence provided for the Chief Justice….CONTINUE READING
Maikyau commended the judiciary for maintaining its discipline despite the challenging circumstances, stating, ” The judiciary in this country is one of the most disciplined arms of government that you can ever find anywhere. The last time the salaries and allowance of judicial officers would be reviewed in this country was in 2007.
“As I speak to you, many also do not know the justices of the Supreme Court salary is a sum of seven hundred and fifty thousand naira.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria before he assumed office, was receiving about that amount of money but soon after he assumed the office of the Chief Justice of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, because according to the provision of the service, he would move into a residence provided for the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the salary dropped to about four hundred and fifty thousand naira.
“All of these things are totally unacceptable. No country operates the judiciary like that. But in spite of that situation, the judiciary has kept itself within discipline.”
He called on those who accuse the judiciary of corruption to provide concrete evidence to support their claims. Maikyau assured that the legal system would vigorously pursue such cases.
He emphasized that those who withhold evidence of corruption are even worse than judicial officers practicing corruption. Despite the perception of corruption, very few judicial officers in the country have been convicted of corrupt practices.
Maikyau stressed the importance of substantiated claims, saying, “When you talk about all eyes on the judiciary and that the judiciary is corrupt and all of that, all those people who are making the allegations… If you have any evidence against any judicial officer, please let us have it; we would pursue that judicial officer.” He pointed out that making generalized statements about corruption without evidence harms the system….CONTINUE READING
