*Says It’s Scandalous For Senators To Earn More Than Judges
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Seyi Sowemimo, has said that the corrupt practices in the judiciary is as a result of a combination of some factors, including low pay, greed, and a lack of patriotism.
He said it during an interview with the PUNCH Newspaper when asked whether poor remuneration and welfare packages could have encouraged some judges to engage in questionable practices
Sowemimo warns that judges should not be tempted with low pay. According to him, it will be unfair to expect a judge to determine cases fairly in issues involving billions or trillions of naira if you pay them a pittance.
He called for good welfare packages for judges. He said, “It’s a mix of all those things; poor remuneration, greed and lack of patriotism, but the fact remains that we should not expose our judges to temptation by giving them very poor remuneration. It will be unfair for you to pay a judge a paltry sum and expect them to decide fairly in disputes involving billions or trillions of naira. There is a limit to which many people can endure such.
“I think before we condemn and apply severe punishment, let it be that you pay them very well, so that if they are found to be corrupt, there will be every justification to punish them and we would know it was caused by greed. The vast majority of judges have done well, otherwise we won’t have a judiciary to talk of today. We have an idea of what senators and members of the House of Representatives get as salary and allowance.
“It takes a huge sacrifice to be on the bench and be seeing all these things going on, so I’m always in support of a good welfare package for our judges. Until we are able to reach that position, we will not really be too justified to breathe down the neck of any judge. However, it will never justify it. Anybody who accepts that appointment knows that it calls for a lot of sacrifice. You can’t get there and say you don’t know what you signed for.”
On whether compulsory retirement of judges, which has been the practice, is a sufficient sanction for misconduct, Sowemimo said the judiciary is a very sensitive institution and the way and manner you deal with its erring members would also affect the integrity and the way the serving members are perceived. He said the judiciary as an institution will be rubbished if judges are rubbished.
He said, “The judiciary is a very sensitive institution and the way and manner you deal with its erring members would also affect the integrity and the way the serving members are perceived. If you rubbish them, what you end up with is rubbishing the institution itself.
“I think whatever wrongdoing they are guilty of, they are nowhere near what a member of the executive or legislative arms is guilty of. I believe every act of infringement by any judicial officer should be taken case by case. There will be instances where it’s not simply okay to just retire them. I remember the last one; after the raid on the houses of the judges, one or two of them were taken to court and fortunately, maybe their offences did not warrant imprisonment but they were prosecuted and because they won the cases, if I may put it that way, it appears like they were not adequately punished. I think some of them were acquitted on technical grounds.
“However, I think people are just mindful of the fact that they don’t want to do things that would affect the institution, but I believe judges should be monitored more closely, just like the way any public official should. I think there is no question that we all believe the standard of living of judges needs to be improved and I believe a lot should be done in that regard. When you compare what judges earn to what senators earn, the difference is scandalous, and these are people who do sensitive jobs. The NBA and other professional groups need to continuously focus attention on their conditions of service.”
