President Bola Tinubu has expressed strong condemnation of the “reprehensible acts” committed by kidnappers across the country, asserting that those involved in such “despicable crimes” should be viewed and treated as terrorists.
He voiced these sentiments on Tuesday during a Ramadan dinner attended by members of the Federal judiciary, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Through a statement released by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, on Tuesday, President Tinubu highlighted the government’s commitment to defeating banditry. He criticized kidnappers who target children, calling them “cowards” who are unable to face the “might of the Nigerian Armed Forces.” “We must treat kidnappers as terrorists. They are cowardly. They have been degraded. They look for soft targets. They go to schools and kidnap children and cause disaffection. We must treat them equally as terrorists in order to get rid of them, and I promise you we will get rid of them,” President Tinubu declared at the dinner.
Regarding the salaries of judicial officers, President Tinubu pledged to continue implementing reforms to enhance their welfare and working conditions. He acknowledged the judiciary’s significant but underappreciated responsibilities, noting their slow progress in modernizing equipment and methods. “I recognize that the judiciary has one of the most unrewarded responsibilities… When you look at the career path of a judicial officer, they cannot practice the vocation for which they were trained after retirement… While the framers of the law may have their reasons, I perceive this differently and see this from a fair compensation angle that should benefit all,” President Tinubu stated.
He expressed his gratitude towards the judiciary for their dedicated service to the nation and their role in upholding the judicial arm’s integrity. “We will continue to support one another and bring Nigeria to that glorious dawn,” President Tinubu concluded.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, in response, thanked the President for hosting the judicial officers to a Ramadan dinner and for his dedication to judicial reforms and improving the welfare of judicial officers. “May the Lord continue to bless you and your administration. Let your ship land and berth beautifully. We shall continue to pray for your administration because there are many good things in the pipeline for Nigerians,” he offered his blessings.
Justice Ariwoola also acknowledged the government’s achievement in appointing a complete team of 21 justices to the Supreme Court, describing it as “unprecedented.”
Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, expressed gratitude for the President’s action in forwarding the “Judicial Office Holders, Salaries and Allowances, etc, Bill 2024” to the National Assembly, highlighting the stagnation of judges’ salaries since 2007. Fagbemi lauded the President’s “courage, determination, and compassion” for proposing a more than 300.3 percent salary increase for judges. “It takes a man with a great heart, determination, and consideration to do what the President did… In my short stay as the Attorney-General, I have come to observe that anything that concerns the judiciary, you are very much interested in it, and I thank you for your abiding interest in the judiciary,” the Minister of Justice said.
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