Lawyers have described the proposed extension of the retirement age of Magistrates and Law Officers of Lagos State as an issue that should be considered within the broader context of justice delivery, institutional experience, career progression and succession planning.
They said the proposed amendment should be viewed both as a judicial-capacity measure and a workforce-planning issue, stressing that retaining experienced officers should not undermine opportunities for younger legal professionals, reports The Guardian.
Lagos had proposed an amendment to the retirement framework for Magistrates and Law Officers. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN) defended the proposal.
He said the proposed amendment bill is not an Executive Bill but rather a Private Member’s Bill currently before the Lagos State House of Assembly, adding that the proposal was considered justifiable in the interest of strengthening and sustaining the state’s justice sector.
Pedro said the position of his office was based on the longstanding policy of harmonising the conditions of service of law officers with those of magistrates in Lagos State.
He said the policy had been in place since 1997, pursuant to a government circular dated March 20, 1997.
According to him, the harmonisation of the conditions of service of law officers and magistrates is not peculiar to Lagos, as similar arrangements had been legislated in other states, including Abia, Kogi, Benue, Imo, Kwara and Osun.
“Therefore, the proposed amendment can be characterised as the continuation of an existing policy, rather than the creation of a new privilege for Law Officers,” Pedro said.
He clarified that the proposed reform was targeted at law officers as a specialised professional cadre involved in the administration of justice, and not lawyers generally.
Pedro said the proposed increase was partly necessitated by the constitutional amendment that raised the retirement age of High Court judges from 65 to 70 years.
He explained that before the amendment to Section 291(1) of the 1999 Constitution, High Court judges retired at 65, creating regular vacancies on the High Court Bench.
But a lawyer, Chuks Nwobi, of Tower of David Solicitors & Advocates said there was already a national policy direction on judicial retirement age as canvassed at the judicial summit held earlier in the year.
He urged Lagos State to consider taking a cue from the development, while considering the statutory framework governing the magistracy.
According to him, extending the retirement age of judicial officers to 70 years could enable the justice system to benefit from officers with substantial judicial knowledge, practical experience and institutional wisdom.
“The principle of a sound mind in a healthy body is not far-fetched. The extension of the retirement age of judicial officers to 70 years is a welcome development because knowledge is one thing, while experience, capacity and institutional wisdom are another,” he said.
Nwobi argued that extending the retirement age would not necessarily undermine succession, stating that a properly designed system could retain experienced judicial officers while preparing younger officers for future leadership.
He said the continued engagement of retired judges in tribunals, commissions and other government assignments demonstrates the value that experience could bring to public service.
He, however, cautioned against treating magistrates and law officers as though they were governed by identical frameworks.
“The law officer and magistracy should not be in the same ceiling. The former is exercised pursuant to public service rules and the latter is part of the judiciary. It is judicial mockery to put them under the same ceiling,” he said.
He also raised the issue of legislative competence and conflict of laws, urging the Lagos State legislature to ensure that any amendment remained within its constitutional and statutory powers.
According to him, extant laws and regulations relating to retirement, pension, conditions of service and judicial administration should be carefully reviewed and harmonised before any amendment is implemented.
Also, a constitutional lawyer, Evans Ufeli, called for a clear succession plan alongside the proposed extension of the retirement age of magistrates and law officers in Lagos State.
Ufeli said extending the retirement age could help the Lagos judiciary and public legal service retain experienced magistrates and law officers whose expertise was valuable in criminal justice administration, commercial litigation, case management and alternative dispute resolution.
According to him, continued service by senior officers could improve consistency in decision-making, preserve institutional memory and support efforts to tackle delays and case backlogs.
Ufeli added that experienced officers could also mentor newly appointed magistrates, state counsels and other law officers, thereby supporting professional standards, judicial ethics, courtroom management and the transfer of technical knowledge.
However, he warned that extending retirement could affect career progression if senior officers remained in service without a corresponding expansion of positions.
He said this could reduce vacancies, delay appointments of younger lawyers to the Magistracy and slow promotions of serving officers, potentially affecting morale.
Ufeli urged Lagos State to maintain regular recruitment, create additional positions where workload justifies it and establish transparent promotion criteria.
He also called for separate consideration of magistrates and law officers, noting that they may not fall within the same constitutional or statutory category and may have different appointment processes, terms of service and retirement conditions.
He said any extension should be subject to careful constitutional review and transparent implementation to preserve continuity while ensuring younger legal professionals have opportunities for appointment, promotion and leadership.
Another lawyer, Chinwike Ezebube, said the measure, if passed into law, would be a step in the right direction. He argued that experience remains important in the legal profession and administration of justice.
He said: “Basically, I personally think that the bill is appropriate if passed into law. Although it is a privately sponsored bill, it’s a step in the right direction.
“Law practice in all its facets is heavily influenced by philosophy. Besides unusual health challenges, the older a Magistrate, judge or lawyer is, the better he becomes.”
According to him, several jurists who made significant contributions to the judicial system were also philosophers, either through age or study.
Ezebube added that extending the retirement age would benefit the judiciary because experienced judicial officers could bring accumulated knowledge and a more developed sense of judgment to their duties.
