By: Obi Chidiebere Emmanuel

Learning the laws as either a law student or a citizen of a country regarding precisely the interpretation of the laws by the third arm of government, otherwise called the “judiciary”, made by the legislature, the dispensation of justice by judges of courts according to their variance, the upholding of the rule of law, the construing of the words made by the legislation in a situation whereby it is repugnant to, or inconsistent with some other provisions in the statute or even when it will lead to what the court considers to be an absurdity, triggers the awarding of merited credits for the peace-keeping and eradication of anarchism to the judiciary.

The judge who is bestowed with the judicial powers of a state to administer public justice in both civil and criminal cases and render judgments as deem fit, is entitled to certain remunerations, allowances, and salaries and not just stipends for his numerous and herculean works to ensure the dispensation of justice, abrogation of criminal activities and peace-keeping in the country.

The judge’s remuneration is quite indispensable and if not frequently looked into by the very arm of government who takes sole responsibility or whose responsibility has been bestowed upon will result to ways unacceptable by the society. An apathetic attitude in the remunerations and salaries of judges will result to various unconstitutional and unlawful means such as the collection of bribes by the judges to deliver judgment favorable to the guilty or liable party either in criminal or civil cases. This will therefore result to the dispensation of justice being eroded and the usurpation of power by anarchists. The judge who has been bestowed the constitutional powers of a state to conduct power proceedings, to preside over court proceedings, to administer justice, and give judgments in various cases, has also been given a form of sovereign immunity called the “JUDICIAL IMMUNITY”, which protects them from liability resulting from their judicial actions, and can verily be used in an inappropriate manner, if their remunerations are not being seen to.

THE THREE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT WAGE GAP

The three arms of government wage gap otherwise known as the three arms wage gap, is a remuneration between the three arms of government in nigeria. It is the remuneration, allowances and salaries comparison of/betweeen the three organs of government in Nigeria.

The legislature- Section 70 of the 1999 constitution which provides for the remuneration of a senate member and the house of representative states thus:

“A member of the senate or of the house of representatives shall receive such salary and other allowances as the revenue mobilisation allocation and fiscal commission may determination”. The debate on the amount nigerian law makers earn has always been a recurring one. A sizable number of reports have been filed on the issue, each attributing varying figures as the amount the lawmakers take home annually.

In 2018, a former lawmaker, shehu sani, who represented kano central said that the salaries and allowances of the senators are approximately 13.5 million naira and a total package of 14.25 million naira per month.

The executive- Section 84(1) of the 1999 constitution provides for the remuneration, salaries and allowances of the executive members such as the president who receives thirty million naira (#30,000,000) annually, according to the revenue mobilisation allocation and fiscal commission.

The Judiciary- As at 2019, a compilation of the annual remunerations of all the 1,067 judges in Nigeria revealed the sum of 8.7 billion naira, at least earned by any of the three arms of government. The figure is also a sharp contrast of the #24 billion voted in the 2019 budget as severance package for members of the outgoing 8th national assembly members.

CONCLUSION

When judges are not properly treated well and their remunerations for their herculean and important works in the state are not tended to, it could result to various unconstitutional means such as the collection of bribes which will be tantamount to delivering inefficacious judgements/results, injustice e.t.c.

BY: OBI CHIDIEBERE EMMANUEL

FACULTY OF LAW ESUT

200 LEVEL