By ONOZURE DANIA

IKEJA — A lawyer and Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday, called for removal of any disparity in the remuneration of judicial officers.

Mohammed made the call in Lagos in a paper he delivered on ‘The Disparity in the Judiciary and the Need for a Review.’

Mohammed delivered the paper at the opening of the 2013 annual convention of the Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria.

“There should be no disparity between magistrates and high court judges. They are both administrators in the temple of justice.

“The disparity has acted as a bottleneck that has impeded on the justice system of the nation,” he said.

Mohammed said that remuneration and appointment of magistrates should be commensurate with those of judicial officers in high courts.

“Justice is the centre point of both the magistrate’s court and high court; so, ‘what is sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander.’

“Welfare packages of magistrates should be improved on so that they do not succumb to bribery and corruption,” he said.

He said that only four of the 104 magistrates in Lagos State had been appointed to the higher bench in the last 10 years.

In his speech, the Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Ayotunde Philips, urged magistrates to discharge their duties without fear or prejudice.

“The magistrates in Lagos are the largest in the country; so, I will implore you to write your ruling without fear of appeal.

“Lawyers will always petition against magistrates but discharge your duties without intimidation,” Phillips said.

She advised magistrates to guard their integrity jealously.

About 250 magistrates attended the convention which will end tomorrow.

According to Phillips, lawyers will always petition against magistrates, so he told them to discharge their duties without intimidation.

She also advised the magistrates to guard their reputation while discharging their duties, stating that their reputation is what will speak for them.