By Raphael Ekpang
The Nigerian senate on Wednesday lamented the poor remuneration of Nigerian judges and justices of the Supreme Court.
Senate committee chairman on judiciary, human rights and legal matters, Senator Micheal Bamidele Opeyemi expressed the concern of the senate during its screening session of the eight justices nominated by president Buhari for approval.
According to the senator Opeyemi, “The poor salary package for Nigerian judges and justices has exposed them to corruption in the course of their duty.
“The situation has also made judges and justices vulnerable to tendencies that undermined their sacred duty in the dispensation of judges,” he said.
However, after a little drama on the modalities of screening the eight nominees, the committee finally screened them in the presence of everybody in the venue.
The nominees are Hon. Justice Lawal Garba, North West; Hon. Justice Helen M. Ogunwumiju, South West; Hon. Justice Addu Aboki, North West; Hon. Justice I. M. M. Saulawa, North West; Hon. Justice Adamu Jauro, North East; Hon. Justice Samuel C. Oseji, South-South; Hon. Justice Tijjani Abubakar, North East; and Hon. Justice Emmanuel A. Agim, South-South.
It would be recalled that, there are only twelve justices at the Supreme Court currently, therefore the confirmation of the eight nominees and approval will raise the number of SC justices to twenty.
