The new CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola and marching tasks ahead 

After the recent screening and confirmation of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the substantive Chief Justice of the Federation by the Senate, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday followed suit, swearing in the highly cerebral jurist and thus stamping the country’s authority on him as the head of its judiciary.

President Buhari had in June appointed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the acting Chief Justice of the Federation succeeding Muhammad Tanko after putting forward his resignation letter on health ground.

Though, the resignation of the former CJN had coincided with publication of a leaked memo by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court complaining bitterly of the unhealthy working conditions among others.

In the letter said to have been addressed to the CJN, but found its way into the public domain, the justices who were worried that their budgetary allocations have not been increased in the last four years, complained that poor welfare was hindering the discharge of their jobs.

The aggrieved judicial officers said that while the relevant federal government agencies saddled with the responsibility of reviewing their salaries and allowances upward have kept them on the same salary for 14 years, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, under the leadership of Justice Muhammad, has worsened their situation by denying them the welfare package they are entitled to, even when the package was captured by the court’s budgetary allocation.

The justices contended that the work they do is very serious, sensitive, and also requires the appropriate authorities to take good care of them. They said unfortunately, they were  hampered by both internal and external forces to a point that it was becoming practically impossible for them to discharge their sensitive duties to the nation.

The issues raised by the justices in their protest letter are non-replacement of dilapidated vehicles; accommodation problems; lack of drugs at the Supreme Court clinic; epileptic electricity supply to the Supreme Court; increase in electricity tariffs; no increase in the allowances for diesel; and lack of internet services in residences and chambers.

Others include internal problems, including non-signing of amended Rules of Court for almost three years; sudden stoppage of two to three foreign workshops and training per annum for Justices; and no provision of qualified legal assistants.

The apex court was also said to have been receiving N110 billion yearly since 2018 despite the increase in its size and responsibilities. It was learnt that its annual budget was not always regularly cash-backed leading to non-provision of essential services for the justices.

For sometime now, there have been lamentations and anger over the poor remuneration packages given to Nigerian judges and justices as monthly entitlements.

Indeed, salaries and allowances of judicial officers, judges and justices were last reviewed in 2008 through an Act of Parliament. At that time, the exchange rate of naira to a US dollar was N117 as against the current N600, and this has depreciated their entitlements.

While officials of other arms of government such as the executive and legislature earn humongous and bumper salaries, allowances and benefits, the judges of courts are paid peanuts.

Not a few legal luminaries have queued behind the justices coming so hard on the federal government for being so mean and insensitive to the plight of these highly sensitive workers.

Mike Ozekhome, SAN, while speaking on the protest letter said the Justices deserved better salary and welfare.

Ozehkome said, “If you starve Judges and Justices, and you make them believe that they don’t matter and will never have a house to retire to, and some justices of the Supreme Court, in spite of the danger inherent in their job are renting houses inside towns, living amongst people, some of whom have been tried and jailed by these same Judges and Justices, then you are begging corruption to embrace them. You are not even giving them enough protection and security.

“That must be apparently why they went so formal by writing that historic letter.

“The CJN must go ahead and take up their grievances and fight it through with the executive arm of government that is holding on to more than 70 per cent of our national resources,with the legislature holding on to the rest.

Speaking on the poor welfare packages for the judges and the protest letter written to the former CJN, Mr Femi Falana SAN, said he saw it coming though it was unprecedented in the annals of judiciary in the country.

He accused the Chief Registrars of allowing themselves to be directed willy-nilly in the vandalism of the judiciary. His Lordship revealed that the heads of courts in the country have enormous budgetary resources from which they can improve the welfare and conditions of serving judges.

He said, “Unlike the Supreme Court, which has a modern building complex with three court halls, many high court judges have no courtrooms. A number of judges have to sit after their colleagues have risen for the day. Others cannot sit due to power outage.”

The legal icon disclosed that rather than anything, the Chief Justice should urgently summon the meeting of the NJC to discuss the concern of the Justices because the issues contained in the protest letter were too weighty to be dismissed with a wave of the hand.

He added that unless the nagging issues are discussed and resolved, the camaraderie among the Justices would not be restored and that will have adverse effect on the quality of the judgments oozing out of the courts.

It is against this background that many are of the view that one of the priorities of the newly sworn-in CJN is to work on how to turn back this ugly hand of time as touching the poor working condition of the Judges.

Given the importance of justice, equity and fairness to a democratic society and further strengthening of our democratic ideals, the new CJN must be ready to dispassionately look into these genuine concerns of his colleagues and thrust a positive path towards having a very strong judiciary that cannot be easily lured to circumvent justice.

And as another general elections approach, the new CJN must also be very much awake and stamp his feet against frivolous court rulings, injunctions, and those cash and carry judgements.

A situation where same court will be given two conflicting judgements over same matter as well as any effort targeted at miscarriage of justice should be severely punished.

The 68-year-old jurist is expected not to spare any efforts in upholding his oath of office and work towards leaving the judiciary far better than he met with many people gaining further confidence in the nation’s last hope of common man, the judiciary.