LAGOS — The Lagos State House of Assembly has commenced moves to extend the retirement age of magistrates in the state from 60 to 65 years.
The proposal is contained in the Lagos Magistrate Courts Amendment Bill 2026, which passed its second reading on Monday during plenary.
If passed into law, the amendment will allow magistrates to remain in service for an additional five years, a move lawmakers said would help retain judicial expertise, promote continuity in court proceedings and reduce disruptions caused by the retirement of experienced judicial officers.
Leading the debate on the bill, the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC, Oladipo Ajomale, said the proposed amendment was necessary to strengthen the magistracy and improve justice delivery in Lagos State.
Ajomale said the state had invested significant resources in the training and professional development of magistrates, stressing that their accumulated knowledge and experience should be retained within the judicial system for as long as they remained capable of effectively performing their duties.
According to him, the proposed extension would address both the welfare of magistrates and the need to ensure stability and continuity in the administration of justice.
He noted that magistrates handle a substantial number of cases involving ordinary residents, making the continuity of judicial proceedings particularly important.
Ajomale explained that the retirement of a magistrate at 60 could create difficulties where the officer was presiding over cases that had not been concluded.
He said such situations could lead to delays in the determination of cases and, in some circumstances, require proceedings to commence afresh.
The lawmaker said extending the retirement age by five years would help minimise such disruptions and preserve valuable judicial knowledge within the magistracy.
He said the state had made “significant investments in the training and development of magistrates,” adding that improved welfare and better working conditions were also important to retaining experienced judicial officers.
Ajomale further argued that retaining experienced magistrates beyond the current retirement age would ensure that the judicial system continued to benefit from their expertise.
He said permitting experienced magistrates to retire at 60 could result in the loss of valuable institutional knowledge at a time when their experience remained important to the justice system.
The proposal also received support from another member of the House, Bonu Solomon, who called for greater attention to research, welfare and the overall working conditions of magistrates.
Solomon argued that improving the welfare of judicial officers would motivate them to perform their responsibilities more effectively and contribute to a more efficient justice system.
The debate, however, extended beyond the issue of welfare and institutional experience, as Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, questioned whether age should be the sole factor determining when a magistrate leaves the bench.
Obasa argued that the retirement framework should also consider the competence, capacity and continued effectiveness of individual judicial officers.
He maintained that reaching the age of 60 should not automatically mean that a magistrate was no longer capable of contributing meaningfully to the justice system.
“Many people above 60 remain active and productive,” the Speaker said, arguing that judicial officers who remained competent and capable of performing their duties should be allowed to continue serving.
He, however, noted that magistrates who could no longer perform effectively should be allowed to retire.
The proposed amendment has therefore opened up a wider discussion on how the state can balance the need to create opportunities for younger judicial officers with the importance of retaining experienced personnel.
While the retirement of senior magistrates could create room for career progression within the judiciary, lawmakers expressed concern that the loss of experienced officers could also affect continuity in a justice system handling a substantial volume of cases.
Following the debate, Speaker Obasa referred the Lagos Magistrate Courts Amendment Bill 2026 to the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC for further consideration.
The committee was directed to scrutinise the proposed amendment and submit its report to the House within one week.
