Plight of lower court judges in Nigeria

Fighting corruption in the judiciary is a dicey matter. There are many thin lines to consider between outright inducement/extortion and genuine demand to enable the judiciary employee carry out his responsibilities.

When a lower court judge is not equipped to do his job, he may be forced to find other ingenious ways of ensuring that he files his returns on time since the judiciary has become militarised, where you obey before complain.

Most lower court judges are literally enslaved by the powers within the judiciary, which is held in tact by the chief judge of the state. Some chief judges forget that lower court judges are their colleagues in the legal profession. There are some lower court judges that are not only senior to some judges in practice but also have better academic qualifications; so why would there be such a professional/financial disparity and lack of respect for lower court judges?

Salaries and allowances
The disparity in salaries and allowances between High Court judges and lower court judges is a scandal because we have the state government neglecting it’s primary judiciary constituents which are lower courts and instead giving high court judges allowances and benefits. I mean what kind of system do we run where salaries of judges come from the National Judicial Council (NJC) and pecks come from the state governments?

This financial/economic imbalance between high court Judges and lower court judges is one of the problems that weaken the foundation of an effective justice delivery system.

This unfair and discriminatory economic conditions meted out to lower court judges has driven the common man to disrespect and devalue the judiciary, considering that as much as 80 per cent of citizens will have access to justice that only Lower Courts provide.

In a South West state, recently, the Chief Judge (CJ), in disregard for the lower courts, cut down on all the allowances due to lower court judges. Despite the increase in funds allocated to the judiciary in the affected state, the CJ decided that the office of the chief judgeneeded more funds to magnify it than use those funds to improve service delivery at the lower courts.

Allowances for court maintenance, fuel, recharge card, impress and others were drastically reduced and guess who will bare the brunt. The court users who are mostly indigent and already victimised by our nation’s bleak economic conditions will be forced to make up the difference through acts of bribery and other forms of inducement.

If corruption in the judiciary in the said state is not a serious issue now, it will certainly become a hydra-headed monster in months to come. While I continue to investigate and monitor judiciaries across the country; I remain optimistic that an independent judiciary is still our best option in this country. Albeit that a situation like what we have in the cited state has made skeptics to believe that the judiciary can never be self- accounting and is better controlled by the executive arm of government, I believe strongly that some chief judges are sincere and up to the task of liberating our justice sector. We know the solution, what is lacking is the willingness to apply our intellect to make Nigeria better for all its citizens.