It’s with rude shock that I heard on 10.00pm broadcast news of Silverbird Television on 18th August, 2011; that the National Judicial Council has jumped the gun (undermining a subsisting court injunction against them) to suspend the President of the Appeal Court of Nigeria, Salami; directing him to handover to the next most senior judge of the appeal court of Nigeria and went further to recommend to the President Goodluck Jonathan to retire him (Salami).

This is absolute absurdity and usurping of the executive powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: section 21 (b) of the Third Schedule states that ‘The National Judicial Council shall have power to recommend to the President the removal from office of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers’.

It baffles me where the National Judicial Council got such constitutional powers to act as such and section 20 of Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, answers the question. It states that ‘The National Judicial Council shall comprise the following members - (a) the Chief Justice of Nigeria who shall be the Chairman; (b) the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court who shall be the Deputy Chairman; (c) the President of the Court of Appeal; (d) five retired Justices selected by the Chief Justice of Nigeria from the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal; (e) the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court; (f) five Chief Judges of States to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria from among the Chief Judges of the States and of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in rotation to serve for two years; (g) one Grand Kadi to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria from among Grand Kadis of the Sharia Courts of Appeal to serve in rotation for two years; (h) one President of the Customary Court of Appeal to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria from among the Presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal to serve in rotation for two years; (i) five members of the Nigerian Bar Association who have been qualified to practice for a period of not less than fifteen years, at least one of whom shall be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria on the recommendation of the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association to serve for two years and subject to re-appointment. Provided that the five members shall sit in the Council only for the purposes of considering the names of persons for appointment to the superior courts of record; and (j) two persons not being legal practitioners, who in the opinion of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, are of unquestionable integrity.

This simply means that the almost all the members of the National Judicial Council shall be biased because their appointment into the Council is at the mercy of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

This explains why they have to do anything in and out of the statue book to subvert the truth and shut the mouth of President of the Court of Appeal, Salami.

I am keen on seeing what will be the reaction of the Presidency to this brewing crisis in the nation’s judiciary, which ought to be the respecter of the constitution.