By Stephen Simon
The Federal Government has increased the annual robe allowance for state counsel and legal officers in the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria from the previously reported N300,000 to N1 million.
The new rates were disclosed by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission in a circular dated July 14, 2026, signed by its Acting Secretary, Adighiogu A. Chiadi, and addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of federal commissions, agencies and government-owned companies, among others.
The commission said the review was approved by the Federal Government as part of a new allowance structure for state counsel and legal officers in the Federal Public Service.
The circular, titled “Review of Robe Allowance for State Counsel and Legal Officers in the Federal Public Service,” stated that state counsel and legal officers employed by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Council would now receive N1 million annually.
It also approved an annual robe allowance of N600,000 for lawyers employed as legal officers in other ministries, departments and agencies who perform strictly legal functions.
The revised rates are scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2027, with the affected ministries, departments and agencies directed to fund the payments from their respective overhead allocations.
The new N1 million allowance represents an increase of N700,000, or approximately 233 per cent, over the N300,000 robe allowance previously reported for lawyers in the Ministry of Justice.
Similarly, the N600,000 approved for legal officers performing strictly legal functions in other MDAs represents a 100 per cent increase over the previously reported N300,000 rate.
The earlier N300,000 figure was disclosed in 2021 by the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, during the ministry’s budget defence before the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights and Legal Matters.
Malami had said about 860 lawyers in the ministry were entitled to an annual robe allowance of N300,000 each, putting the estimated total expenditure at about N258 million.
However, the latest NSIWC circular does not expressly state the previous allowance applicable to each category of legal officer covered by the new review. The N300,000 figure should therefore be regarded as the previously reported rate for lawyers in the Justice Ministry and not necessarily as a confirmed former rate for every category covered by the latest circular.
Robe allowance is intended to assist lawyers who are required to appear in court in prescribed professional attire while representing the Federal Government or its agencies.
The latest review comes amid wider adjustments to public-sector remuneration and allowances as the Federal Government continues to review compensation arrangements across the public service.
The commission directed ministries, departments and agencies seeking clarification on the implementation of the new rates to forward their enquiries to it.
