The National Judicial Council (NJC) has strongly denounced several state governments’ refusal to provide judges with retirement benefits.
The impacted governments’ actions were termed as alarming and condemnable in all implications by the Council in a statement released yesterday.
Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), presided over the Council meeting, and in a statement released to the media following it, he urged the defaulting states to uphold their legal commitments regarding the payment of retirement benefits to judicial personnel.
After careful review, the Council strongly condemns this act, which undermines the rule of law and Section 6 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
It thus urges the accused governments to make sure that all retiring judges’ claims be immediately settled in full.
The Council further instructed State Chief Judges to provide reports on compliance, which were to be received by the Council by April 1, 2023.