By; Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Bauchi has decried what it described as meagre salaries, allowances, and poor working conditions of some lower court judges and magistrates has diminished their integrity and dignity in the public glare by rendering them vulnerable and subsistable to all manner of some unwholepractices.
This ugly scenario, according to the association, has also subjugated the sharia court judges and magistrates to absentism and persistent lateness to work, exorbitant and outrageous charges to visit locals in courts, as well as imposition of high levies on litigants, including their counsels as cost of filing fees, production of records of proceedings and procurement of papers and other relevant materials, among others.
The association explained that if this trend is not urgently checked and addressed, it would be impossible for the poor man to have access to justice in the state courts today, and stressed the urgent need for the state government to increase the salaries and allowances of magistrates, sharia court judges, state counsels and other staff of the judiciary in the state by 300 percent so as to solve the problems of managing meagre resources.
The State NBA Chairman, Barrister Rabi’u Garba at the just commencement of the 2025/2026 new legal year in Bauchi, noted that lack of mobility is another factor militating against effective judicial administration in the state, saying “It’s sad to mention that most of our magistrates, sharia court judges, senior state counsels, and public offices in the judiciary are not mobile”.
Barrister Rabi’u Garba told the new legal year celebrants that lack of mobility compels those categories of officers to board commercial tricycles or ‘Achaba’ to their various courts and offices.
The state association chairman queried, “Imagine a magistrates or sharia court judge on board a tricycle or ‘achaba’ of an alleged criminal standing trial before he, unknown to the judge or who has served his jail term as ordered by the passenger judge. Imagine the consequences of the negative action of the Okada rider if he decides to act otherwise”.
Barrister Rabi’u Garba cries, “We therefore call on the Bauchi state government to provide car loans to all magistrates, all sharia court judges, senior state counsels, and other senior staff of the judiciary of the state. This is to ensure their welfare and effective discharge of their official duties without fear or favour”.
Garba succinctly puts it thus; “In view of the expansion of mass population, couple with growing sensitization and awareness in Bauchi state, we have witness a growing rate of litigations in our courts which seems to overstretch our judges, most upon there is the need to create additional judicial division of the Bauchi State High Court in Misau, Ningi, Tafawa Balewa, and Toro LGAs, and also to create a division of the Sharia Court of Appeal in Katagum and Ningi LGAs”.
He similarly called on the authorities to deploy another High Court Judge to make two stations judges of the High Court in Katagum division as, according to him, this will provide a great solution to the current rate of cases pending towns and divisions.
“This new legal requires a total cleansing and upgrading of the system in order to give Bauchi state judiciary a facelift it deserves. We sincerely applause the cordial working relationship between the bar and the bench which has been yielding bountiful fruits and judicial harvests, thereby elevating our state to one of the topmost Ladder of the nation’s judicial hierarchy”, he said.
Barrister Rabi’u Garba expressed contentment that the State NBA is happy to have a justice of the Supreme Court from Bauchi, and two justices of the Court of Appeal from the state, including federal judicial officers, and also have from the public and private bar some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and hoped to have more in very foreseeable future.
He tendered a special request to the state government to kindly donate a vehicle bus each to NBA Bauchi and Katagum branches so as to ease their transportation problems in attending NEC meetings in all states of the federation, and donate an open building for NBA Katagum, as well as official cars to the chairmen of the two branches.
Bauchi NBA Chairman appreciated Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed who had since the inception of the present administration in the state, 2019 to date unwaveringly the state NBA both in moral and financial support, especially as regards sponsorship to trainings, welfare, capacity building, and provisional development, among others.
Barrister Garba told the governor, “Legal year celebration is meant to usher in a new face of judicial administration with a reflection on the key judicial events of the preceding year, and to prepare for the current and future judicial events, which could not have come at a better time than now when the judiciary all the nation is another season of electoral liquidation, as well as political cases that would emanate from the conduct of the forthcoming 2026 primary elections, to be followed by the general elections in 2027 across the country.
He urged the judicial officers to prepare well and remain steadfast in facing the onerous tasks of effective determination of mirale of liquidation in the current legal year, and commended the entire judiciary in the state for the perseverance in upholding the tenets of justice and professionalism despite the doubting challenges plaguing the smooth administration of justice delivery in Bauchi state.
Declaring the new legal year opened, Governor Bala Mohammed recalled that since the advent of the present administration, the three arms of the government in the state have been working harmoniously and in synergy without compromising their constitutionally guaranteed autonomy.
Represented by his deputy, Rt. Hon Auwal Muhammad Jatau, the governor said that the Executive arm has been giving the other two arms, legislature and judiciary the necessary support and cooperation to ensure that they operate optimally without let or hindarence.
The Governor explained that it was in consideration of the need for speedy dispensation of justice that he made sure the necessary legal framework for the effective and efficient operation of the judiciary is put in place, hence his assension of the laws passed by the legislature that have to do with the enhancement, development and providing conducive working conditions for the state judiciary as attested by speakers at the occasion.
Senator Bala Mohammed said, “Beside ensuring speedy dispensation of justice, the laws I assented to will go along way in addressing the challenges of modern times and the dynamism of our society. The laws also enhance the quality of justice and strengthen the rule of law which engenders sanity and confidence of the citizens in the judicial system”.
Governor Bala recalled that during the preceding legal year, six additional High Court Judges and five Khadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal were appointed by the state government, thus rising the number of High Court Judges to 17 and Khadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal to 15, to which is the highest in the history of judiciary in the state.
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