The Senate has called for the establishment of Special Intervention Fund that would help in improving funding of Judiciary and welfare package for Justices, Judges and Judicial officers, even as it stressed the urgent for financial autonomy for the Judiciary.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made the call in Abuja, during screening of Justices John Tsoho and Benedict Kanyip as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria respectively.
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said that Nigerians have extreme urgent expectations from the Nation’s Judges and Justices, even as he said that it was time for Nigeria to change the narrative, to show that we are serious and understand the full and true meaning of the independence of the judiciary.
Senator Bamidele said that the story which had dominated the political space has been that Judiciary is corrupt.
“Under the present set of circumstances, if we appoint saints from heaven, assuming we are able to do so, to serve on our bench as Justices and Judges, it is only the strength of character of the individual that can prevent him from being corrupt”
But in a swift reaction to the alleged corruption in the Judiciary, the National Judicial Council, NJC, Executive Secretary, Ahmed Saleh said that if the corruption there was juxtaposed with other Systems in the Country, the Judiciary will be Saint.
Saleh said “the welfare packages for judicial officers in this country is nothing to write home about. Judges’ salaries were last reviewed in 2007.
