Popular human rights activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju has vowed to advocate for an increment in the salaries of Supreme Court Justices.
Adeyanju vowed to use the instrumentality of the law to push for a monthly salary of N15 million for the Justices.
The Abuja-based lawyer, who was called to bar on Wednesday, disclosed this in a statement titled “My Commitment to Nigerians as I Join The Largest Bar in Africa.”
He pointed out that the Justices are vulnerable to corruption with a monthly salary of about N3 million.
According to Adeyanju: “Recognising the important role of the judiciary in the life of our nation, I will advocate for an increment in the salaries of all judicial officers across board. It is indeed shameful that while governors, lawmakers and even their aides earn humongous amounts under a four year term, members of the judiciary who have dedicated their entire life to doing justice to all manner of persons earn peanuts.
“A judiciary where a Supreme Court Justice earns barely N3,000,000 (Three Million Naira) per month is a judiciary vulnerable to corruption. I will use the instrumentality of the law to advocate that no Supreme Court justice should earn less than N15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira) per month.”
The convener of the Concerned Nigerian Advocacy group also vowed to use his knowledge of the law to fight corruption and challenge security agencies to carry out proper investigations of corruption allegations.
“I will commit my time, resources and knowledge of the law to the fight against corruption. In almost all areas of our national life, corruption has become pervasive and there is no better time than now for us to confront this monster. I will, as often as possible urge the relevant security agencies to investigate allegations of corruptions and where they fail to do so, I will seek orders of mandamus compelling them to do their jobs, as well as fiats from Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute corruption cases.
“I will continuously seek the interpretation of knotty constitutional issues that affect the life of our nation and the wellbeing of its citizens. My fidelity to the Constitution and the Nigerian people will remain my guiding light in all I do. I commit to use my license and knowledge of the law for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he added.