The National Assembly joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously rejected the judiciary budget.

It also gave the Minister of National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu and DG budget office, Ben Akabueze, 24 hours to appear before it, over poor budgetary allocation to the Nigerian judiciary, an act they believe compromises their independence and ability to effectively function.

The Judiciary has been allocated N5.3 billion for capital expenditure and N8.8 billion for recurrent expenditure in the 2024 budget.

This is according to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, who had appeared before the Senate Committee on Judiciary a few days ago to seek additional funding.

The minister urged the committee to support the Ministry, as it was fundamental in driving the current administration’s roadmap for the justice sector.