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Judicial officers to smile as FG begins implementation of 300% salary hike
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi has said the Federal Government has started the implementation of the 300% pay rise for judicial officers.
Fagbemi said this on Monday at the 12 Convocation ceremony of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) in Ekiti State.
“One ongoing concern before I took office was the poor remuneration of judicial officers,” the AGF said at the event’s grand finale where he was conferred with an honourary doctorate in Law.
“I am again pleased to report that a major intervention of the Tinubu administration in the judiciary is the recent 300% upward review of the remuneration of judicial officers in Nigeria across board. To be true, I can confirm that the implementation of this has begun in earnest.”
He described the move as “an important first step” in the President Bola Tinubu administration’s resolve to “strengthen the judiciary”.
Tinubu had in August signed into law a bill seeking a 300% increase in salaries and allowances for judicial officials.
His comment came months after the Supreme Court recently ruled in favour of local government autonomy in what many have described as a watershed in the nation’s democratic journey.
Earlier in the year, Justice Fagbemi had sued the 36 state governors over alleged mismanagement of local government funds.
Months later, the apex court ruled that it was illegal for states to hold local government funds.
Before the verdict, local government funds were paid into a joint account managed by state governments and LGAs in their domains.
Justice Emmanuel Agim directed that allocation from the federation account should be paid directly to local government areas henceforth, and not to state government coffers.
This is our very modest contribution to the strengthening of our foundation and invariably the country’s democracy,” Fagbemi said.
The AGF also said the Federal Government will be embarking on a holistic review of Nigeria’s laws to respond to the daily needs of the country.
“We have assembled a team of legal luminaries to achieve this within a very limited timeframe,” the minister of justice said.
“This law review intervention will cut across all aspects of our social, economic, and political life.”
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced that members can now decide whether to accept or donate the four main components of blood based on their personal conscience.
The organisation made this known in a statement issued by its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York and made available on its website on Friday.
According to the statement, “the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses announce adjustment to blood transfusion policy
It added that “each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person.”
However, the organisation said its position on whole-blood transfusion had not changed.
“The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged,” the statement said.
International spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organisation’s World Headquarters, Paul Gillies, said, “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God.
“We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.”
The organisation said the adjustment “follows earlier updates regarding blood fractions and the use of one’s own blood during medical procedures.”
It added, “Since the Bible does not comment on such decisions, they are a matter of individual conscience. That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.”
On medical care, the statement said, “Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care. They do not practise faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs.”
Gillies said local congregations would not interfere in members’ personal decisions.
“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.
“We are grateful, too, for the many skilled and compassionate physicians who provide quality medical care that respects our personal wishes regarding blood,” he said.
The organisation said Jehovah’s Witnesses number “over nine million worldwide, in congregations across more than 200 lands.”
Recall that the religious group had clarified its position on the use of a member’s own blood during surgery and other medical procedures.
The clarification allowed individual Witnesses to decide whether their blood could be removed, stored and returned to them during medical treatment, while the organisation maintained its position against receiving blood from another person.
Punch
The Nigerian Army has dismissed as fake and unverified a purported intelligence alert warning of planned Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks on schools, churches, mosques, NYSC orientation camps and other public institutions across the country.
Anele said the Army was aware of the circulation and had heightened vigilance across its formations and commands to prevent attacks on vulnerable facilities.
She described the purported intelligence as speculation and urged the public not to treat the document as an official Army security alert.
The response followed the circulation of a document purportedly signed by one A.M. Sodiq, which claimed that Boko Haram and ISWAP were planning coordinated attacks across several parts of the country.
The document listed churches, schools, NYSC orientation camps and other vulnerable locations as possible targets and alleged that suspected ISWAP operatives had begun surveillance of selected locations.
It further claimed that the alleged attacks could coincide with the resumption of the 2026/2027 academic session.
However, the Army disowned the document, maintaining that it did not originate from the institution.
The Army assured Nigerians that security formations remained on heightened alert and were taking necessary measures to protect schools, places of worship and other vulnerable public facilities.
MINNA, Niger State — An engine oil seller in Minna, the Niger State capital, has reportedly sustained serious injuries after allegedly being shot during a police operation to disperse protesters.
The victim, identified as Ibrahim Mohammed Dada, was reportedly standing outside his shop at Tunga Market when he was struck by a bullet.
Ibrahim’s brother, Yakubu Dada Mohammed, said the victim was not part of the protest and was attending to customers at his engine oil stall when the incident occurred.
According to him, Ibrahim was simply trying to earn a living and support his family when a police officer allegedly fired a shot that hit him in the head and severely injured his face.
«“He was not among those protesting. He was standing in front of his shop selling engine oil when one of the police officers fired a bullet that struck his head and badly injured his face,” Yakubu said.»
Ibrahim is currently receiving treatment at Minna General Hospital, where his condition was reportedly described as critical.
The incident occurred amid protests in Minna over the reported deaths of 37 miners who were allegedly in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Reports indicate that 65 miners were arrested on September 15 and 16, with 37 subsequently reported dead while in security custody.
The protests, which began on Thursday, continued into Friday as security personnel moved to disperse demonstrators. Security forces were reportedly accused of using tear gas and live ammunition during the operation.
However, the circumstances surrounding Ibrahim’s shooting have not been independently established.
The Niger State Police Command spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, appealed for calm and said the incident would be investigated.
The case has since heightened concerns over the conduct of security personnel during the ongoing protests.
Jehovah’s Witnesses announce fresh adjustment to blood transfusion policy
Army speaks on Boko Haram, ISWAP attack alert as fake
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