By Emmanuel Thomas l Monday, Sept 14, 2026
LAGOS — The Lagos State Government has cleared the air on the public controversy surrounding the proposed amendment to the Magistrates Law of Lagos State, which seeks to extend the retirement age of Magistrates and State Law Officers.
Providing official context in a statement released on Monday, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), clarified that the proposed legislation is not an Executive Bill, but a Private Member’s Bill currently under legislative consideration by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Pedro noted that although the Executive did not sponsor the bill, the Ministry of Justice supports its passage because it aligns with public interest, structural fairness, and the long-standing legal framework of the state.
Correction of Judicial Imbalance
Explaining the core rationale behind the reform, the Attorney-General revealed that the amendment was necessitated by an unintended institutional consequence of the Fifth Alteration (No. 37) Act 2023 of the 1999 Constitution, which increased the retirement age of High Court Judges from 65 to 70 years.
Prior to the 2023 constitutional alteration, the retirement of High Court Judges at 65 created a predictable vacancy pipeline. This allowed qualified Chief Magistrates and senior Law Officers to be elevated to the High Court bench before reaching their mandatory retirement age of 60.
However, with High Court Judges now serving until 70, vacancies on the bench have significantly reduced. This shift has restricted career progression, leaving highly experienced Magistrates and State Counsel facing premature retirement at 60 without a fair chance of elevation.
”The proposed amendment is intended to correct this unintended disparity and establish a more coherent and sustainable career structure within the justice system,” Pedro stated. He added that the reform will prevent structural stagnation and allow the state to retain skilled legal talent for effective mentorship and institutional continuity.
Policy of Harmonisation
Addressing claims that the bill grants special privileges to select legal personnel, Pedro clarified that the proposal applies strictly to Law Officers as a specialised professional cadre within the administration of justice—not lawyers generally.
He emphasized that Lagos State has operated a policy harmonising the conditions of service between Magistrates and Law Officers since March 20 form 1997. Furthermore, similar legislative harmonisation exists in several states across Nigeria, including Abia (2008), Kogi, Benue, Imo, Kwara, and Osun—where Law No. 7 of 2023 extended the retirement age of judicial administration officers to 65.
Under the proposed amendment, legal officers will retain flexibility regarding their exit from service. The draft bill prescribes that: “A Magistrate or Law Officer in the State may retire when he attains the age of sixty years and he shall cease to hold office when he attains the age of sixty-five years or 40 years in service, whichever is earlier.”
The Attorney-General urged members of the public and legal stakeholders to view the legislative discourse through the lens of institutional sustainability rather than sentiment, reiterating that retaining experienced hands will further solidify Lagos State’s status as a pace-setter in Nigeria’s judicial sector.
The 2023 Constitutional Benchmark: In June 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law the Fifth Alteration (No. 37) Constitution Amendment Bill, unifying the retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers across Nigerian courts. This raised the retirement age of lower-tier High Court judges from 65 to 70 years, matching the status of Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeal Justices.
The Harmonisation Precedent in Lagos: Lagos State established the precedent for balancing the welfare and service conditions of Magistrates with Ministry of Justice Law Officers (State Prosecutors, State Counsel, Civil Litigators) via an official Government Circular on March 20, 1997. The current bill ensures both cadres remain on equal footing.
National Trend: States across the federation have progressively updated state-level judicial service laws to mitigate the “drop-off rate” of experienced lower-court judicial staff. Osun State enacted a unified law in December 2023, setting a precedent by extending service years for both Magistrates, Law Officers, and Registrars involved in court administration.
