According to reporting by *The Punch*, the Federal Government of Nigeria has significantly adjusted the annual robe allowance for state counsel and legal officers working within the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria. Under the newly approved remuneration framework issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), eligible lawyers will now receive N1 million annually, reflecting a massive 233 percent increase from the previous N300,000 allowance.
The revised policy also addresses lawyers performing strictly legal functions across other federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). Legal personnel in these auxiliary institutions have been allocated N600,000 per annum, effectively doubling their former stipend to support mandatory courtroom appearances in official attire.
The directive, signed by the NSIWC Acting Secretary, Adighiogu A. Chiadi, mandates that the updated allowances take effect from January 1, 2027. Individual government organizations will be required to fund these payouts internally from their allocated overhead operational costs.
The policy update has been verified through parallel reporting by *Daily Post* and *The Guardian*. In its account, *Daily Post* highlighted that the commission issued the directive through an official circular sent out to statutory bodies, noting that “the Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the review of Robe Allowance for State Counsel and Legal Officers in the Federal Public Service.” Corroborating the development, *The Guardian* emphasized the budgetary mechanics of the directive, reporting that “the revised rates take effect from 1st January 2027, and will be funded from the overhead cost of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”
Echotitbits take:
This upward review of legal dress allowances represents a strategic attempt by the administration to mitigate brain drain within public prosecution and state defence organs. By aligning allowances closer to prevailing economic realities, the government hopes to boost morale among civil service attorneys. Moving forward, stakeholders should monitor whether MDAs can successfully absorb these disbursements within their existing overhead operational budgets without triggering funding deficits for core statutory duties.
Source: The Punch – https://punchng.com/justice-ministry-lawyers-robe-allowance-rises-233-to-n1m/, August 18, 2026
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