Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, the retired Supreme Court Justice, on Friday decried the poor salary structure of Justices in Nigeria.
Muhammad, at a valedictory court session in Abuja held in his honour, said that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court earns more than the Justices.
According to him, the monthly salary of the apex court registrar stood at N1.2 million. At the same time, Justices get N751,000, representing a 37.4 per cent disparity, adding that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, is receiving only N400,000 plus monthly salary, which is 66.7 per cent less when compared to the N1.2 million monthly take-home of the Supreme Court Registrar.
He decried why Justices’ salaries decreased despite added responsibility.
“It may interest one to know that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court earns more than the Justices. While she earns N1.2m per month, justices take home N751,000 monthly.
“The CJN, on his part, takes home N400,000 plus. The salary of a Justice, curiously, drops rather than increases when he gets the added responsibility of being a CJN.
“That the unjust and embarrassing salary difference between the justices and the Chief Registrar still abides remains intriguing, to say the least,” he said.
