Muhammad gets severance package like his predecessors
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Tanko Muhammad will get N2.26 billion severance package as a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), a post from which he resigned on health grounds on Monday amid corruption allegations against him now under Senate investigation.
The package is broken down as N2.25 billion as benefits and N10.08 million gratuity, which is 300 per cent of his annual basic salary of N3.36 million. Besides, he will get pension for life.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) will also build a mansion for him in Abuja or any city of his choosing and provide money for the furnishing.
The NJC recommended N2.5 billion payment to Muhammad’s predecessor Walter Onnoghen when he retired in 2019, just as Alfa Belgore who retired as CJN in 2007 was paid about N2.8 billion.
Like Governors, a retired CJN is entitled to at least four domestic staff and sundry allowances such as for accommodation, utilities, entertainment, medical, security, furniture, and vehicles.
The remuneration and severance package of political, public, and judicial officers are published on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) website but the full detail of allowances is not.
Muhammad will get the financial package based on Section 291 (2) and (3a-c) of the Constitution as well as Section 2 of the Pensions Rights of Judges Act.
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CJNs well treated in retirement
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who prefers anonymity said Muhammad, being a former head of the judiciary, would be well paid so that he would not have to work again for life.
“The severance package is as humongous as the one paid to former Senate Presidents. He would also be a member of the Council of State,” he added, per reporting by The PUNCH.
Another SAN who also does not want his name mentioned, said: “His entitlements are enormous. He’s entitled to a house anywhere in Abuja, domestic staff, cars, salaries and allowances for life. Judges are being overworked because, by the time they retire at 70, they are not always looking young.”
A source in the NJC confirmed that “honestly, his gratuity and pension will be intact, what he’s earning will continue. They will give him his official cars. He’s entitled to houses anywhere in the country.
“This is done by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. All of them are choosing Abuja, but I don’t know the amount he would be paid.”
Senate investigates Muhammad
Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday mandated the Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters Committee to investigate allegations of financial corruption and bad leadership levelled against Muhammad by all his 14 fellow Supreme Court justices.
Dare Ariyo-Atoye, Adopt A Goal Initiative and Coalition in Defence of Nigeria’s Democracy Convener, has urged the National Assembly to halt the payment of benefits to Muhammad pending the outcome of the investigation.
The allegations blew into the open last week, which added to the pressure for Muhammad to retire on Monday apart from his health challenges.
However, the Senate has no prosecutorial powers and can only make recommendation to the executive. And a Senate recommendation can be ignored by the President or the Attorney General, as often happens in this Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Besides, federal lawmakers investigating corruption allegations is a ruse, as they themselves steal from the treasury, according to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Morally and legally, a thief cannot investigate a thief with any positive result.
Both the ICPC and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have prosecutorial powers and this is why the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) asked them to arrest and prosecute Muhammad if found guilty.
Tension remains in the Supreme Court
It emerged on Tuesday that what precipitated Muhammad’s resignation is memory disorder, and judicial sources disclosed that he had been battling it long before he was appointed CJN in 2019.
The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine defines memory disorders are disorders of cognition, the ability to reason, remember, make decisions and communicate.
The illness may include dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, vascular cognitive impairment and hydrocephalus.
“He has been travelling abroad, particularly, to Dubai for treatment for the illness. The government was aware of his condition before he was appointed as the CJN after former CJN Walter Onnoghen was booted out,” a source explained.
A Supreme Court official recounted that judicial circles were shocked and expressed concern over Muhammad’s appointment three years ago.
Said he: “When he was appointed, the entire justice system was worried because he has been battling the sickness for long and workers were taking advantage of it because the man was forgetting things.
“Even now in the Supreme Court, there is a serious contest between the workers and the justices because the workers had written to them for intervention but the justices only used their complaints as grist for their own matter.
“There were some approvals for the workers which the CJN did not implement. When the workers wrote, they expected the justices to intervene but they instead converted their protest letter into a source of information to fight for their interests.
“Though the man has gone, there is still tension in the Supreme Court.”
The children of Muhammad once brought a list of applicants to be employed in the Supreme Court.
“The director [of administration] queried it, but despite that, they still gave them employment without following the proper procedure,” the source recounted.