A new court order has helped to amplify and mandate the upward review of judicial workers’ pay packages. This was according to a ruling by Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae of Nigeria’s National Industrial Court. On Friday, July 15, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae issued a ruling stating that the failure to review salaries for the past 14 years is illegal and unconstitutional.
According to Legit.ng, the verdict was issued by Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, who described the government’s failure to conduct a review earlier as illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae delivered judgment in a suit filed against the Federal Government by Chief Sebastine Hon in her ruling (SAN).
Her decision, however, resulted in a new salary structure for judicial employees based on their hierarchy. According to the Punch newspaper, the new salary structure is as follows:
1. Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) – N10 million monthly.
2. Justices of the Supreme Court – N9 million monthly.
3. President of Court of Appeal – N9 million monthly.
4. Justices of the Appellate Court – N8 million monthly.
5. Chief Judges of Federal High Court – N7 million monthly.
6. Chief Judges of State High Court – N7 million monthly.
7. Chief Judge of the FCT – N7 million monthly.
8. Sharia Court of Appeal of the FCT – N7 million monthly.
9. President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the FCT. – N7 million monthly.
In light of the new review ruling, the Daily Nigerian reported that justices and judges currently earn N3 million or less per month as their minimum monthly salaries.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae also issued a mandatory injunction requiring all defendants to immediately put in place or activate legal and administrative machinery to begin payment to the justices. This also means that all defendants in the suit, including the National Assembly (NASS), the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), and the National Judicial Commission (NJC), must obey the industrial court’s decision with immediate effect.