THE CABLE
Abubakar Malami, the immediate past attorney-general of the federation (AGF), advised former President Muhammadu Buhari to decline assent to the bill on uniform retirement age for judicial officers, TheCable can report.
In a memo seen by TheCable, Malami told the former president that approval of the bill would create a “huge financial and unexpected burden” for the federal government.
On May 2, the national assembly directed Amos Ojo, its clerk, to transmit the bill to Buhari for assent.
The proposed alteration was entitled ‘Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Altercation) (No.37) Bill, 2023’.
The constitutional bill seeks to extend the retirement age of high court judges — and others — from 65 to 70 years.
The retirement age of justices of the appeal and supreme courts is already pegged at 70.
The bill also seeks to ensure uniformity in the pension rights of judicial officers of “superior courts of record” specified in section 6(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
The courts listed in section 6(5) are the supreme court, court of appeal, federal high court, high court of Abuja, high courts of states, sharia court of appeal, national industrial court, and customary courts of appeal, among others.
MALAMI’S MEMO TO BUHARI
In a memo dated May 23 and addressed to the office of the chief of staff to the president, Malami said the bill appears to be “far-reaching, unduly wide, ambiguous”, adding that it made no “justification” for the extension of retirement age and benefits for judges.
Malami averred that the bill would lead to stagnation in the career growth of judges, adding that “those currently on the bench would have to stay longer, preventing others from being elevated in higher courts”.
